


The Academy

by jasminesighs (itanejiluver)



Category: Ailee (Musician), EXO (Band), 소녀시대 | Girls' Generation | SNSD
Genre: Assassins & Hitmen, Fantasy, M/M, MAMA Powers, Ninjas - Freeform, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2018-11-03 22:41:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 48,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10976862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itanejiluver/pseuds/jasminesighs
Summary: In an environment where elemental magic users are trained to become assassins for the government, a thirst for power is always expected. However, their world is on the brink of war, and Yifan has been noticed by the other side.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello! Welcome to this new story--it isn't terribly original, but I'm just trying to get back into the groove of things. Enjoy! (This chapter has been edited.)

 

_Part One_

The moment the doors opened, whispers burst forth into the air. Junmyeon sighed and sat back in his seat, rubbing at his temples. The younger students burst into excited chatter while the older students had a wide array of reaction. Some of them sat up straighter in their seats, their eyes narrowing with envy. Some of the others started adjusting their clothes and hair, hoping to be noticed. Some pretended to be disinterested with the whole affair, but Junmyeon knew that they were just itching to be noticed as well.

A few seconds passed, and then Junmyeon got to his feet. “Well?” Junmyeon tapped his foot impatiently. “Are you all going to just stand there, or are you going to take your seats?”

The chatter instantly stopped, and Junmyeon heard a stray hairpin burst out of someone’s hair and land on the ground with a faint _clink_. Junmyeon rolled his eyes and folded his arms. “You don’t frighten me,” Junmyeon said firmly. “Take your seats. The Headmaster will be here soon.”

Yifan, the leader of the group students standing in the doorway, smirked. “I suppose we aren’t known as the Great _Twelve_ for nothing.” He stepped into the classroom, the other students following his lead. “Isn’t that right, Junmyeon?”

Junmyeon sighed through his nose as Yifan and his friends walked right up to him and took the six open seats on Junmyeon’s right. He sat down silently, not bothering to respond as Yifan and his team made themselves comfortable.

Six months ago, the Academy had seen fit to take his class of twelve and divide them in half. Junmyeon lead one half, and Yifan lead the other. Junmyeon had no problems with being split up—after all, the teachers at the Academy knew exactly what they were doing. They probably had a mission coming up by the end of the year that depended on their ability to work in separate teams. Meanwhile, Yifan still seemed furious about the whole affair.

“Where is your team anyways?” Yifan sat back in his seat and stretched. Junmyeon forced himself not to blush when Yifan’s shirt rode up to reveal his toned stomach.

“I don’t know,” Junmyeon said patiently. “I’m only their leader in the training rooms. Outside, we are all on equal ground.” Junmyeon sent a pointed look at the five other members of Yifan’s team, who were pretending not to listen to their conversation.

Yifan hummed thoughtfully. “I don’t think I lead them outside of our training.”

“And yet when you came in, who was the one leading the group into the room?” Junmyeon raised an eyebrow.

“It was mostly Luhan’s idea.” Yifan slouched back down in his seat. “You know he loves the attention.”

Junmyeon laughed a little at that. “Yeah. I know.” The doors opened again, and Junmyeon’s spine straightened when the headmaster to the Academy walked in. A hush spread out across the room as the Headmaster slowly walked to his place at the podium.

“Good morning, my students.”

“Good morning, sir,” everyone chorused back.

The headmaster gazed out at all of them for a few moments before he started speaking again. “As you know, you are the best of the best. Every year, students have been weeded out from your classes. Weaklings will continue to be removed until you reach your final year.” The headmaster looked straight at Junmyeon, and then at Yifan. “We cannot tolerate weakness. The Nation of Mountains must appear strong, especially to our enemies—The Desert Nation and the Land of Pines.” The headmaster drew his shoulders back. “Feel proud to be sitting in this room today. You are our nation’s best, and you will continue to keep our nation safe from outside forces.”

Junmyeon smiled at that, feeling a small surge of pride. Junmyeon had been recruited into the academy at age eleven. His parents were prominent commanders in the army at the time, and had felt honored that Junmyeon had been chosen for such a prestigious school.

Junmyeon had to say that he missed them, even though he’d barely seen them at all for the past seven years. But he’d found his family here, in his classmates. What had started out as a class of one hundred students had dwindled every year, until finally, in their seventh year, all that remained were the so-called “Great Twelve”: Yifan, Luhan, Minseok, Jongdae, Zitao, Yixing, Kyungsoo, Chanyeol, Sehun, Baekhyun, Jongin, and of course, himself. The twelve of them were tightly knit, even though they’d been split into two groups. Junmyeon valued every one of them dearly, even though they all had their own faults.

“I have brought you here today to tell of you of a new threat.”

Whispering broke out across the room. Everyone knew that they were on the edge of war with the Land of Pines, who were trying to expand their borders. Junmyeon frowned slightly and glanced over at Yifan. None of their teachers or training officers had spoken of a new threat to Junmyeon and his team.

To his surprise, Yifan’s mouth was set in a thin line, his eyes an odd mixture of anger and resignation. Yifan must know what the threat was. Junmyeon pressed his lips together. Did that mean that Yifan had already encountered it? But how? Was Yifan’s team already being deployed into battles? Was the real difference between their teams that Yifan’s team was more skilled than Junmyeon’s?

But that was impossible. Junmyeon turned away to face the front again. Junmyeon and Minseok’s teamwork was _legendary_. Legendary! It rivaled that of top agents that they had faced in reconnaissance and recovery missions that they had been on. It rivaled the top agents that the Nation of Mountains currently had among their ranks. In terms of abilities, Junmyeon would have to say that his team was equal to Yifan’s—but in terms of teamwork, Junmyeon’s team far outstripped Yifan’s.

Junmyeon tried to quell his thoughts. Junmyeon was competitive by nature, and that had helped him keep his place in the Academy’s ranks as he pushed himself to be the very best water elemental in his class. But with his brothers, it would only lead to conflict.

The headmaster let the whispering go on for a few more moments. “Who of you in this room know of the Tree of Life?”

Junmyeon blinked in surprise and raised his hand along with everyone else. The Tree of Life was what gave all elemental users of powers. It was one of the first lessons they learned after arriving at the academy.

“Good. Now as you know, our powers rely on _balance_. Balance between energy and movement. Balance between support and opposition. And thus, there is also a balance to the great energy from the Tree of Life.”

“The Red Forces,” someone whispered on Junmyeon’s left. Junmyeon shivered and stared at the headmaster. The Red Forces were a dark, shadowy organization—feared by all, but only seen by very few. Little was ever spoken of them.

“It has come to our attention that the Red Forces have started actively recruiting to their ranks once more.” The Headmaster’s lip curled in a sneer. “They seek to support the Land of Pines in their endeavors. They have started to focus their recruitment attempts on our school.”

The room was absolutely silent, and Junmyeon was pretty sure that some of the students were holding their breath. The younger classes had gone pale and quiet.

“Rest assured, our teachers and staff will do their best to protect you from their influences. Because of this threat to our security, we have enlisted some new rules.” The headmaster pulled a list out of his pocket and began to read.

Junmyeon listened with interest. Some rules made sense—visits home were being reduced, although they would be made up for with increased time for phonecalls. A curfew would be set on the student dorms. Teachers would escort students between classes. Access to the outdoor training grounds would be restricted.

“And finally, the Eighth Floor of the compound is forbidden access to all.” The headmaster put the list back into his pocket. “You must all be worried and afraid, but your teachers and peers will all be here to support you and guide you as you consider your studies. These rules will go into effect immediately. I will leave Vice Principal Cho to organize the teachers and lead you back to your classes.” The headmaster left the room, and Junmyeon turned to Yifan as their vice principal began calling out class names.

“You knew,” Junmyeon said softly. Luhan, Chanyeol, Zitao, Sehun and Jongdae were talking amongst themselves, and Junmyeon wasn’t worried that they were listening. “Yifan.”

Yifan gave him a look. “Of course I knew.”

“How?” Junmyeon’s fist tightened in his pockets. “They said that the Red Forces were trying to recruit from here, but…” Junmyeon hesitated.

Junmyeon had lied to Yifan when he’d confronted him earlier. Junmyeon had always been afraid of Yifan—Yifan was powerful and charismatic. On the first day at the academy, Junmyeon had always strived to become as powerful as Yifan, but he didn’t think he’d ever succeeded. Yifan was a true master of the element of Flight, and he could do things Junmyeon had never read in any book.

Junmyeon also knew that Yifan was power hungry. Yifan had fought for a position of power, and he he’d held onto it in their first year together, fighting and snapping at anyone who dared to challenge him. Making him one of the team leaders must’ve been a no-brainer for their teachers, but at the same time, Junmyeon worried.

“But what?” Yifan glared at him outright, and Junmyeon flinched in his seat. “Say it. I dare you.”

Junmyeon was suddenly very aware of the fat that Luha, Zitao, Sehun, Chanyeol and Jongdae had stopped talking and were staring at them. Junmyeon licked his lips and opened his mouth. “I…”

“ _CLASS EIGHT_ ,” Vice Principal Cho bellowed, and Junmyeon realized that the entire room was empty except for them.

Junmyeon jumped out of his seat. “Sir! I’m sorry.” He bowed as the other boys also got out of their seats.

“Junmyeon, where is the rest of your team?”

Junmyeon hesitated. Should he tell the truth in front of Yifan?

Vice Principal Cho waved his hand. “Never mind. Go find them, and the twelve of you are to report to your dorm immediately after.”

“Yes sir.” Junmyeon lead the way out of the classroom. When they were out in the hallway, Junmyeon turned to Yifan. “You six head back to the dorm. I’ll go get my team.”

“You know where they all are?” Yifan raised an eyebrow at him.

Junmyeon shrugged. “I have my guesses.” Junmyeon turned away and started off in the opposite direction from their dorms. “See you lot in a bit.”

 

The moment he turned the corner, Junmyeon broke into a full out run, darting past a class of third years being escorted by a teacher. Junmyeon didn’t stop until he reached the outdoor training grounds and paused at the gate.

The headmaster said that access would be restricted—but since his team had been absent from the assembly, surely this small infraction would be ignored?

Junmyeon pushed open the gate just in time to see Baekhyun rolling out of the way to avoid a falling boulder.

Junmyeon clapped his hands loudly, and the five boys in the arena stopped what they were doing to look at him.

“How’s the extra training going?”

The five of them relaxed out of their fighting stances and jogged over to him. Minseok patted him on the back. Junmyeon smiled at him, and turned to the other four. Jongin had dropped to a crouch on the ground, Kyungsoo was staring at him with his hands in his pockets, and Yixing was gazing off in the distance. Baekhyun was currently cozying up to Minseok, ignoring the older boy’s annoyance at how sweaty and warm it was.

Junmyeon sighed and reached down to wipe a smudge of dirt off of Jongin’s forehead. “I hope you all had a chance to spar.”

Jongin shrugged. “Baekhyun and I were the last pair.” He patted Junmyeon’s wrist. “Thanks.”

Junmyeon smiled down at him, and then took a deep breath. How should he break this news? “They said that the Red Forces are starting to recruit again, and they’re focusing on the academy.” Junmyeon drew his hand back, and Jongin slowly rose from his crouch. Yixing’s eyes snapped to meet Junmyeon’s, and Junmyeon bit his lip. “They’ve put down some new rules. Access to this practice ground is restricted. We’re getting fewer visits home, and we have to be escorted by teachers between classes.” Junmyeon frowned. “Vice Principal Cho wants us to all head back to our dorm now.”

“Huh.” Baekhyun drew away from Minseok and scuffed at the ground with his foot. “But how do they _know_ the Red Forces are targeting here?”

Junmyeon turned away and began to lead his team out of the compound. “It makes sense,” Junmyeon said after a moment. “We’re the top warriors in training in the whole country. They’d want people like us to join them.”

“Yeah, but the Red Forces are so…vague. They haven’t done anything concrete in the past. Why would the academy start taking things so seriously now?” Yixing asked softly.

Junmyeon swallowed hard. “I don’t know,” he said nonchalantly. “Maybe they’ll tell us later.”

The rest of the walk back to their dorm was quiet and subdued. Even Baekhyun, who normally took every chance he could to wreak havoc, was quiet. Junmyeon knew that the news was troubling—but they’d probably all be back to their old selves once they’d had a chance to sit down and think things through.

The Red Forces were feared by every elemental user. Like the headmaster had said, their elemental powers focused on balance. The Red Forces were their natural born enemies, destined to keep them in check. But the Red Forces had been reduced to shadows and dust after the Great War thirty years ago—long before any of their time.

Junmyeon felt a beat of fear. The threat of impending war, and the fact that he and his classmates would graduate soon meant that soon, the twelve of them would be deployed into the army. They would fight real battles—not just small missions to retrieve an item, escort civilians, or gather information. (Although their missions had taken on increasing amounts of significance in the past couple of years.) With this additional stress, Junmyeon wouldn’t be surprised if their teachers gave them mandatory visits to the school psychology department.

Just as Junmyeon was about to pass into the dorm, Minseok stopped him with an arm on his shoulder.

“You do know? Don’t you,” Minseok said in a low voice. The rest of the team had already gone inside, and Junmyeon could hear the conversation picking up within. “Why the academy is taking this so seriously?”

Junmyeon bit his lip. He trusted Minseok the most out of everyone on his team—but somehow, he couldn’t be sure of how Minseok would react. “I have my suspicions,” Junmyeon said at last. “But I don’t know for sure.”

Minseok frowned at that and opened his mouth to argue, but Jongdae poked his head outside. “Are you two going to come in?”

“Yes,” Junmyeon said quickly, easily sliding away from Minseok. Minseok made a frustrated noise and moved to follow him, and Junmyeon had the sinking feeling that their conversation wasn’t over just yet.

Junmyeon wasn’t surprised to see everyone crowded together in the common room of their dorm. Behind the common room, a hallway lead to the six rooms that the twelve of them shared.

Junmyeon looked around and let himself relax a little. It had been at least a week since all twelve of them had been able to get together and talk, and even if it was this kind of circumstance bringing them together, Junmyeon was glad.

“Will they still restrict our access to the outside training grounds?” Luhan asked.

Kyungsoo scoffed. “We’re probably the prime targets for recruitment. I’d be surprised if they let us out of sight at _all_.”

“You think they’d station a guard in our dorm?” Jongin seemed intrigued by the prospect.

“I doubt it,” Junmyeon said quietly, all eleven of them turning to look at him. “They probably already have some kind of surveillance equipment in here anyways.”

The others froze, looking shocked, and Junmyeon frowned. “Are you all serious? We’ve been in an academy that has taught us that surveillance is a key part of our job, and you never suspected that they’ve been watching us this whole time?”

Yifan recovered first. “I don’t suppose you’d happen to know _where_ the bug might be?”

“No,” Junmyeon said firmly. And even if he did know, he wouldn’t tell Yifan. Not with his current suspicions.

There was another pause, and then Baekhyun changed the subject.

Junmyeon walked over to sit down beside Yifan on the couch. The rest of the boys, for whatever reason, had decided to sit on the floor around their coffee table, chattering eagerly with each other about the results of their training.

“How’re you holding up?”

Junmyeon stared at Yifan in surprise. This was an absolute turnaround from the animosity that Yifan had shown him less than an hour before. “I’m fine.” Junmyeon looked away. “The team’s training is going really well. I’m proud.”

“You should be.” Yifan stretched and then dropped one arm behind Junmyeon’s shoulders. Junmyeon didn’t blush, even though he screamed internally. “I was worried, at the beginning. The twelve of us had gotten so close, and I thought we would be ripped apart when we got split up.”

“Sometimes a bit of distance is good, especially since no one has been removed from our class for two years now.” Junmyeon leaned back, resting his head against Yifan’s arm. It felt good to have someone he could rely on, who understood the struggles he was going through.

“Did you think they’d weed someone out last year?” Yifan asked curiously.

“I was a little worried,” Junmyeon admitted. Last year, Jongin’s oldest sister had been struggling with an illness, which had made Jongin worried and distracted enough to affect his performance. But Jongin was still here this year, so that was that.

“I wonder what the other kids who were with us are doing now,” Yifan said thoughtfully.

Junmyeon took his head off of Yifan’s arm and curled up in his seat, resting his chin on his knees. “Some probably went back to civilian life. Some probably went into the civilian army. I think that Luna got back under the psychology department.”

“She’s probably learning all kinds of mind-fuckery over there.” Yifan let his arm drop to rest on Junmyeon’s shoulders, and Junmyeon couldn’t help the blush that rose to his cheeks this time. Junmyeon worked hard to make sure that Yifan wouldn’t notice that Junmyeon liked him, but sometimes, he wondered how good his act really was.

“If someone had tried to force me to stop practicing magic, I would’ve found another way back,” Junmyeon said quietly. “It’s…irresistible.”

“Hm.” Yifan stared blankly at the wall, and Junmyeon sighed softly.

A sharp knock on the door put an end to the conversation as all twelve boys got to their feet. Minseok opened the door, and to their surprise, the headmaster himself walked into the room.

All twelve of them dropped into the ninety degree bow of respect, and held it.

“Rise.”

Junmyeon slowly straightened up, eyeing the headmaster with fear. Was he here to punish his team for not coming to the assembly? Junmyeon had been the one to suggest the extra sparring practice.

“Junmyeon.”

Junmyeon snapped to attention, looking the headmaster right in the eyes.

“Don’t worry. I’m not here to address that.”

Junmyeon nodded stiffly and looked away. The headmaster had an uncanny ability to guess what anyone was thinking at a given moment.

“All twelve of you are aware of this new threat, yes?” The headmaster looked intently at them as they nodded. “Good. You’ll understand then, that your class will have the highest security. You will not be allowed to leave your dorms for anything besides meals and training. You will always be escorted by myself or Vice Principal Cho.”

Junmyeon couldn’t hide his small start of surprise. Escorted by the headmaster himself?

But then, given his misgivings about Yifan, Junmyeon supposed that it wasn’t completely unwarranted.

“Unlike the rest of the school, you will not be permitted any further contact with your families for the time being,” the headmaster said sternly. “No visits. No phonecalls. Only teacher-approved correspondence may be approved for special cases.”

Jongin let out a small noise at that, but Junmyeon shook his head at him. It would be best to avoid conflict with the headmaster. They had all witnessed the headmaster’s great power during training sessions, and Junmyeon didn’t dare to put any of them in the way of his wrath.

Junmyeon glanced over at Yifan, and raised an eyebrow when he saw that Yifan’s teeth were gritted, and his hands were clenched in tight fists.

“Is there something you would like to say, Yifan?”

“No, Headmaster,” was Yifan’s quick response. Nevertheless, Junmyeon didn’t see any hint of relaxation in Yifan’s posture.

The headmaster looked amused, but moved on. “Are there any questions?”

“Will we be permitted to use the outside training grounds?” Luhan asked.

“Only in special cases.” The headmaster looked at the twelve of them. “These rules will be maintained very strictly. If you act out of line, there will be…disastrous consequences.” He turned on his heel and left the room.

Junmyeon let out a small sigh and collapsed back onto the couch. The Headmaster was an imposing man, but he also made a point of projecting his elemental energy out through a room to intimidate those within it. Junmyeon wiped at the sweat on his forehead—he _hated_ being enveloped in someone else’s energy. He could stand short contact with it—longer with his team members, but he absolutely hated being in close proximity to the headmaster for that reason.

“Well, we’ll be spending a lot more time together,” Yifan said in a low voice. “Any objections or fights you have with others should be taken care of out in the training rooms if possible.”

Junmyeon shot Yifan a look. “They’ll probably also have us take mandatory sessions with Psychology,” Junmyeon said quietly. “That is an equally good time to blow off steam.”

Junmyeon glared at Yifan, and Yifan glared right back at him. Yifan _knew_ how Junmyeon felt about fighting things out. With certain types of people, such as Yifan himself, Zitao and Luhan who understood physical interaction best, that would work. However, for more introspective sorts like Yixing or himself, talking was also a perfectly valid outlet.

“That’s enough,” Minseok said firmly, and Junmyeon looked away. Minseok had a blush rising in his cheeks, but his voice and stance were firm as he looked between the two leaders. “Don’t go starting something this quickly.”

“Thank you, Minseok.” Junmyeon got to his feet and patted Minseok’s back. “I’m going to go lie down for a bit. Sehun?”

Sehun, his roommate, waved him away and continued his conversation with Jongin. Junmyeon shrugged and wandered into his room, sighing as soon as he hit the mattress. Sometimes, Sehun liked to join him and chat for a bit, but perhaps now wasn’t the right time.

Junmyeon rolled onto his side and closed his eyes. He’d just take a short nap, until their next schedule. He closed his eyes and fell asleep to the sound of his classmates’ quiet conversation in the living room.

 

 

 

 

Junmyeon dreamed of red mist and grasping hands. He was quite sure that Yifan made a brief appearance in the dream—in fact, Junmyeon had been searching for something. Had it been Yifan?

Junmyeon sat bolt upright. The digital clock at his bedside read 2:00 a.m., and Junmyeon suppressed a groan. He’d only meant to take a short nap—but he supposed that they hadn’t had anything else in their schedule for the rest of the day, or else someone would’ve woken him up.

Junmyeon quietly slipped out of the room, determined not to disturb Sehun. Sometimes, Kyungsoo remembered to bring back extra food if one of them slept through dinner—

Junmyeon paused. Chanyeol and Yifan were talking quietly in the living room.

Junmyeon had always thought it was a curious choice to put Yifan and Chanyeol on the same team. Chanyeol was equally ambitious as Yifan, although Junmyeon supposed that Chanyeol had gotten used to Yifan being the leader.

“What’d it say?” Chanyeol was asking, and Junmyeon held his breath.

“Just a time and a place.” Yifan sounded worried, and Junmyeon blinked. “Their intentions were clear.”

“We’re going to be on lockdown for who knows how long.”

Yifan snorted at that. “Why do you think we’re talking about this?” Then he paused. “Someone’s awake.”

Junmyeon froze, and then slowly backed away two steps. Then he walked forward two steps and leaned against the doorframe. “What’re you two doing up this late?”

“You finally woke up.” Yifan smirked at him, and Junmyeon rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

Chanyeol got up from his seat. “I’m going to bed.” He brushed past Junmyeon, and Junmyeon let him go.

Yifan remained seated.

“Is everything okay?” Junmyeon ventured further into the living room.

“How much did you hear?”

“Nothing,” Junmyeon said instantly, lying through his teeth. “I just thought I’d make sure everything was alright.”

To his surprise, Yifan let out a long sigh and stood up. “Junmyeon.”

“Yes?” Junmyeon forced himself not to move back when Yifan walked towards him.

Yifan came to a stop when they were nearly toe-to-toe. Junmyeon forced himself not to move even as a small spot of stubble above Yifan’s upper lip caught his eye. If he wasn’t careful…

“You know that despite everything…I care about everyone. You know that, right?”

Junmyeon tilted his head up in surprise. “Of course,” Junmyeon said quietly. _Despite everything_. What could that mean? Yifan’s nature? Some argument they’d had in the past? How they’d drifted apart over time?

But even though the words were loaded with unknown meaning, Junmyeon knew that Yifan still cared about all of them.

Yifan pulled him into a brief hug, and Junmyeon’s breath caught. Yifan wasn’t big on touching—in fact, Junmyeon could count the times Yifan had hugged him on one hand. And yet, there they were.

Just as Junmyeon was about to lift his hands to return the hug, Yifan let go. “Good night,” he said quietly, his eyes searching Junmyeon’s face.

Junmyeon wasn’t sure what Yifan saw in his expression, but he forced himself to remain neutral. “Good night,” Junmyeon said quietly.

Yifan left the room, and Junmyeon slowly sank down onto a chair, his hunger forgotten. What on earth had that all been about?

Junmyeon had to wonder what Yifan had chosen to talk to Chanyeol about. It couldn’t be anything _too_ secretive, given that Junmyeon had just informed them all that their dormitory was probably bugged. Junmyeon rubbed at his forehead, sighed and then went into the kitchen. To his relief, there was a small box of food with his name on it, and Junmyeon made a note to thank Kyungsoo when the other woke up.

 

 

 

Living under such tight security was nerve-wracking. As the headmaster had promised, he escorted them between most of their classes and trainings. Junmyeon supposed that at least he was getting practice maintaining his cool in the presence of such overwhelming elemental energy—but other than that, things were grim. The twelve of them barely spoke while they were at the dorm. They’d started training together as group of twelve again to make their schedules easier, and when they returned to the dorms, the twelve of them would usually fight over the showers and then collapse into an exhausted sleep until the next day.

Junmyeon was impressed with the progress Yifan’s team had made. Their teamwork was better than Junmyeon had been expecting, but was still no match for Junmyeon and his team. Junmyeon felt his chest puff up a bit with pride as he thought of how well his team worked together. They’d soundly won the sparring match their teachers had set up between them thanks to all of their practice together.

Junmyeon vaguely wondered if this was some kind of evaluation for his and Yifan’s performances. It was only four more months until their graduation date, and the instructors and headmaster were probably deciding where exactly to place them in the elemental ranks. Junmyeon could only hope that he would bring honor to his parents and family with his assignment.

Junmyeon sighed at the thought of his family. He was worried—his aunt, uncle and their three nieces lived near the border with the Land of Pines. The area must be tense, and Junmyeon would’ve advised them to get out _now_ as the threat of war seemed increasingly likely, but he was still forbidden from communicating with the outside world.

It had been nearly a month, and Junmyeon was anxious. There was no sign that the security would be letting up, but Junmyeon hadn’t expected much. Either they would be with this kind of security until they graduated, or the war would break out first and their teachers would be deployed to the front lines. Junmyeon would be surprised if things didn’t turn out that way.

“Can you believe we’re going to graduate in three months?” Junmyeon turned to Yifan and smiled. Yifan had been increasingly tense lately. Not in public—but when it was just him and Junmyeon. Junmyeon didn’t know if he should be flattered that Yifan felt he could show his feelings to him, or if he should be hurt that Yifan was always lashing out at him.

Yifan looked surprised. “Yeah, I guess we are.” He rubbed at his face with a towel. “I hadn’t realized that it would be so soon.”

“Yeah.” Junmyeon sat back on his hands. Today, Junmyeon and Yifan had agreed to train together in a practice room. One of their training captains was sitting outside of the door to make sure they didn’t go anywhere they weren’t supposed to. “What do you think will happen when we leave?”

“What do you mean?” Yifan frowned. “They’ll deploy us into the military. That’s what happened to everyone else.”

“Yeah, but do you think they’ll let us talk to our families again?” Junmyeon stared at a corner of the room where grey paint was chipping. There was a small whole that Junmyeon had blasted with some of his water earlier. “I’m…worried.”

“Why?”

 Junmyeon turned to stare at Yifan. “Why am I worried about my family?” he repeated.

Yifan just shrugged.

Junmyeon wondered if something had gone wrong between Yifan and his parents. “I have some family near the war zone. I want to know how they are,” Junmyeon said at last.

“I see.”

The air was so thick with tension that Junmyeon visibly shrugged his shoulders—only to realize that part of the reason he was feeling so uncomfortable was that Yifan was projecting his elemental energy _everywhere_. “Yifan.”

“What?”

Junmyeon frowned. “Relax. Your energy is going to make me vomit.”

Yifan snorted and got to his feet. There was a little push, and Junmyeon nearly fell over with how dizzy he felt, but then it passed.

“You’re so weak, Junmyeon.” Yifan sneered down at him and went out into the hallway, leaving Junmyeon sitting on the ground in shock.

Yifan had never spoken to him that way. Junmyeon frowned. Had he done something to make Yifan angry? And what did Yifan mean by weak—Junmyeon scowled and clenched his fist. Someday, Yifan was going to acknowledge how strong Junmyeon had become. He would’ve thought that Yifan had acknowledged him by agreeing to all of the practice that they’d been doing together lately, and in the past, but perhaps not.

Junmyeon got to his feet and went outside. Unsurprisingly, Yifan didn’t spare him a glance when he came out of the room. However, to his surprise, there was no teacher in sight, and Chanyeol had joined them.

“…Tonight, Chanyeol.”

“Okay,” Chanyeol mumbled. He stiffened when he saw Junmyeon. “Junmyeon! I didn’t know you and Yifan practiced together.”

“We haven’t in a while,” Junmyeon said easily. “I thought it would be good for us. After all, there’s a high probability that the two of us would paired in the field frequently for missions.”

Chanyeol flinched, and Junmyeon frowned. “Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing.” Chanyeol rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly. “I just…had a chill.”

“A chill.” Junmyeon gave Chanyeol a disbelieving look. Chanyeol had impeccable control of his elemental energy, fire, and his core temperature was often a bit higher than normal. “Right.” Junmyeon turned to Yifan. “Where’s the teacher?”

Yifan pointed down the corridor to the training instructor who was jogging towards them.

“I’m sorry boys, I just went to get some water.” The instructor nodded in greeting to Chanyeol. “Shall I escort you three back to your rooms?”

The four of them set off through the academy, none of them speaking. Junmyeon’s eyes flickered between Yifan and Chanyeol’s faces, but both of them had settled into stony impassivity.

Junmyeon felt a beat of disappointment in his heart. Had he failed? As a leader, he wanted to be someone that anyone could come to with their problems, but Chanyeol and Yifan seemed to have gone to a place he couldn’t reach.

Junmyeon frowned. A month ago, Yifan had mentioned something vague about a time and place to Chanyeol. And just now, Junmyeon was sure that Yifan had said ‘tonight’.

Junmyeon had found no information to confirm or disprove his theory that the Red Forces had approached Yifan to recruit him. Junmyeon felt a sudden pang of fear. Yifan had told Junmyeon that he cared about all of them—so he wouldn’t consider joining them. Right?

_You’re so weak, Junmyeon._

The words echoed in his mind, and Junmyeon couldn’t bring himself to even try and set his thoughts straight.

Junmyeon bumped into Minseok when they made it back to the dorm. “Minseok.”

“Yeah?” Minseok paused in the doorway.

Junmyeon glanced behind him, and saw that Yifan and Chanyeol had gone to their rooms.

Junmyeon took a deep breath. All of this could mean nothing—but if his instincts were right…

“Tonight.” Junmyeon bit his lip. “Keep an ear open for anyone trying to leave. Would you?”

Minseok frowned. “Is something wrong?”

Junmyeon looked away. “I…don’t know.” _You’re weak, Junmyeon_. “Just stay sharp tonight.”

Minseok gave him a critical look, and then nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you in a bit.”

Junmyeon nodded and went into his room. Sehun was out, probably practicing with Luhan. Luhan was Sehun’s favorite, out of their batch. Sehun was always going out of his way to spend time with him. Always talking about him. Junmyeon marveled that Sehun was lucky enough to be able to express all those feelings towards Luhan. Junmyeon didn’t dare speak about his feelings. He had a feeling that if he tried to cling to Yifan, he would be hurt even more than he was now.

Junmyeon closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. The tension in the academy was taking a toll on his mind—he should probably go in to see a counselor tomorrow.

 

 

 

Junmyeon busied himself with oiling and cleaning his weapons for the rest of the evening. Sehun came back into the room and wrinkled his nose at the mess of rags and grease that covered Junmyeon’s side of the room.

“Are you getting ready for some hand-to-hand combat?”

“No.” Junmyeon held a dagger up to his eyes. “I just realized that I haven’t done an inventory in a while.”

“Jongin would disapprove. He’s uptight about that stuff.”

“That’s because Jongin’s ability has lead him to specialize in close combat,” Junmyeon said patiently, carefully packing his things away. “And he’s the best at it in our year.”

“He is.” Sehun lay down on his mattress as Junmyeon began to clean up. “Junmyeon…”

“Yeah?” Junmyeon looked over at his roommate. Even though they’d been recruited into the same class, Sehun was three years younger than him. Normally, Junmyeon didn’t think he was too soft-hearted with his roommate, but with Sehun staring up at him with open, troubled eyes, Junmyeon couldn’t help but feel his heart break a little. “What’s wrong?”

“I could ask the same of you,” Sehun said at last. “You’ve been…tense lately. And I heard you, talking to Minseok at the door.”

Junmyeon smiled at that. “Everyone’s tense,” he said after a moment. “I think it’s making me more nervous. I’ll probably go in to Psych tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Sehun rolled onto his back. “You can talk to me if you need to, you know.”

“I know,” Junmyeon said gently. “Thanks.”

“You depend on Minseok and Yifan the most,” Sehun grumbled, and Junmyeon smiled at that. “But I’m here too.”

“Thank you, Sehun. That really means a lot.” Junmyeon crossed the room and ruffled Sehun’s hair. Sehun whined, but didn’t move away from his hand.

Junmyeon smiled and went back to cleaning up. Maybe he had neglected Sehun this past month—after all, he’d been so busy with his team training before, and Yifan and he would have to schedule practices around each other. Junmyeon just hoped that Sehun wouldn’t hold it against him too much.

 

 

 

 

That night, Junmyeon made sure to take a caffeine pill before bed. He lay on his mattress, listening alertly for the sound of anyone moving. The house passed by on the clock. It was midnight—then one, then two…

Junmyeon felt himself falling into a meditative state as the only sounds that stirred through the room was Sehun’s soft breathing. Junmyeon slowly sat up in his bed, and then froze.

Someone’s door had opened.

Junmyeon didn’t move, his heart thudding in his ears. Maybe they would just go the bathroom? Or maybe they were hungry—

Footsteps softly went past Junmyeon’s door towards the entryway, and Junmyeon knew he had to do something. Junmyeon quietly got out of bed and silently slipped out of his room, quietly thanking his past self for oiling the hinges and putting a dampening cloth around the doorjamb. He knew that he might have a reason for wanting to sneak out of his room quietly, whether it was Sehun’s peace of mind, or whether he wanted some time to himself without anyone talking to him.

Junmyeon stood silently. He didn’t hear anything else in the dorm. Junmyeon slowly, silently crept towards their common room, his feet not making any noise. Junmyeon saw the shadow of Minseok’s door opening, and then closing, and then Minseok was right behind him.

Minseok tilted his head as if to ask if Junmyeon had seen anything. Junmyeon shook his head and raised a finger to his lips. Together, they slowly edged around the corner, looking to see if anyone was in the common room.

Silence and darkness met their eyes. Junmyeon frowned. He could’ve sworn that he’d heard the people moving towards the common room. Junmyeon took a step forward, and then froze.

The entry door was open.

Junmyeon whirled around and stared at Minseok, who was staring at the door in shock.

“Minseok.”

Minseok snapped to attention. Junmyeon used his commanding voice. “I’m going to go and see what’s going on. Get a headcount of everyone else. Try not to wake anyone if you can, and then come join me. I’ll leave a trail for where I go.”

“We could get in so much trouble for this,” Minseok said softly, his eyes sharp with concern. “You heard the headmaster—he’ll punish us terribly, even if we’re this close to graduating.”

Junmyeon shook his head. “I think its Yifan and Chanyeol.” Junmyeon glanced back at the open door. “You don’t have to follow me if you don’t want. Just send me a signal if I’m right or not.”

Minseok stared at him for a moment, and then nodded slowly. “I’ll catch up with you in a minute.” He turned around, and Junmyeon darted out the door and into the hallway. He frowned, for a moment. Left or right?

And then he saw it. A red scrap of tissue paper lay at the end of the corridor, and Junmyeon went toward it. He picked it up, and surveyed it closely. It looked normal. Junmyeon pocketed it, left a small pool of water on the floor, and continued.

Junmyeon followed the corridor until he came to another intersection. One was a doorway that lead to the emergency staircase in the compound. The other way lead towards a wing of training facilities. Junmyeon frowned. It would take too much time to check the training facilities on his own and then go back—

Junmyeon’s eyes widened when he heard footsteps coming from the around the corridor. He leaped into the emergency stairwell and crouched down, his back against the door. The footsteps continued past him, and Junmyeon let out a small sigh of relief. He let a small drop of water trickle out from beneath the door, and got to his feet, surveying the stairwell. What was taking Minseok so long to catch up with him?

Junmyeon stared when he saw a red thread caught on the railing of the landing a flight above him. Red paper and now red thread—this seemed almost too easy. As if he was being led somewhere.

But who would be leading him? Junmyeon frowned and pulled out the knife he’d taken with him from his belt. He went up the stairs and grabbed the red thread as he passed and left another signal for Minseok to follow him as he continued up the stairs.

The stairs were accessible from each roof. Junmyeon dismissed the idea of the fourth and fifth floor—those only had classrooms for the first and second year classes. There was no reason for Yifan and Chanyeol to go there. The sixth and seventh floor were teacher dormitories, and there was no way they would go there either, especially if they were going to be discrete. That meant either the red thread hadn’t been a clue and they had gone to the basement, or…

Junmyeon hesitated. The headmaster had stated that the eight floor of the compound was forbidden to _everyone_. Junmyeon would be risking everything if he dared to investigate the eighth floor.

Junmyeon swallowed harshly. Junmyeon didn’t want to believe that Yifan and Chanyeol were doing something wrong—he hoped with all his heart that Yifan and Chanyeol had just gone to train, whether it was on a third floor room, or one of the specialized rooms in the basement. But somehow, Junmyeon knew that that wasn’t the case. Yifan wouldn’t risk being caught breaking the rules for something as simple as training.

Junmyeon took a deep breath, and started up the stairs for the eight floor.

Junmyeon reached the top landing and peered through the window, trying to see through—but the window was too grimy and dusty to see anything. Junmyeon pressed his ear to the door, but he couldn’t hear anything.

Junmyeon didn’t like diving into situations without an idea of his surroundings, but he had no choice. Junmyeon left another pool of water on the stairs and pushed the door open.

To his surprise, he wasn’t met by a maze of corridors, like all the other floors of the compound. Instead, the entire floor was open, interspersed with the occasional support column for the roof. There was a thick layer of dust on the floor, and Junmyeon crouched down, frowning. Why was this floor forbidden? Unless…

Junmyeon ducked and kicked upwards as someone dropped down on him from above. There was the satisfying feeling of his foot connecting into someone’s side and an answering grunt.

Junmyeon jumped away, and found himself staring at Chanyeol, who was staring back at him with amazement. “ _Junmyeon_?”

“Chanyeol,” Junmyeon said evenly. “Who else were you expecting?”

Chanyeol shook his head. “No one,” he said at last.

“Where’s Yifan?” Junmyeon asked, his heart leaping up into his throat. Was he too late?

Suddenly, there was warmth at his back, and Junmyeon twisted, stabbing with his knife and springing away from the person behind him. There was a small drop of blood on the dagger, and Yifan stared passively at him as Junmyeon glanced between him and Chanyeol.

“What are you two doing here?” Junmyeon asked, his voice cracking slightly.

“I could ask the same of you. You just tried to stab both of us with a knife,” Yifan said lightly.

“ _Yifan_.” Junmyeon let his barriers fall, and gave Yifan the most honest look he could manage. “Don’t joke around.”

Yifan met his gaze, surprise flickering across his face before it faded to resignation.

“You know,” Yifan said quietly. “You’ve figured it all out.”

Chanyeol let out a surprised noise, but Junmyeon ignored him. “So you _were_ approached by the Red Forces,” Junmyeon said softly, and Yifan nodded in confirmation. “But that doesn’t explain why you’re here, in this forbidden section of the school. Yifan…”

Yifan’s gaze changed from weary resignation to fiery anger. “You know why,” Yifan said softly. “Say why we’re here. Say it.”

Junmyeon felt something break inside of him. “You’re going to accept?” he whispered softly. Tears came unbidden to his eyes, and one spilled down his cheek, dripping onto the dusty cement at his feet.

Yifan looked shocked. “Junmyeon…” He took a step towards Junmyeon, when something suddenly came crashing from the ceiling between them.

Junmyeon jumped back, his arms raised. A figure in a long, scarlet cloak stood between him and Yifan, and Junmyeon blinked. Was this person the source of the red paper and red thread?

“You brought two friends with you, Yifan. How unexpected.”

The stranger had his face hidden in the cowl of his cloak, and Junmyeon swallowed harshly. Where the fuck was Minseok? Had Minseok chickened out on him and stayed back in the dorm? But he’d said that he would come…

“I needed their help to slip away,” Yifan said after a moment.

Junmyeon found his voice again. “Yifan!”

“Junmyeon, shut up!” Chanyeol yelled, and Junmyeon flinched. He’d nearly forgotten that Chanyeol was there. Junmyeon turned to Chanyeol and stared.

“Not you too,” Junmyeon said softly, staring at Chanyeol. “Please.”

Chanyeol looked away. “I’m sorry.”

The cloaked figure started to laugh. “I see,” the figure said gasping. “So! One friend and one enemy, is that right?”

Junmyeon felt his palms start to sweat, but he forced himself to stay calm. He’d faced these situations on missions. It was three to one, and Junmyeon didn’t think that he would be able to take them head-on, but the least he could do was raise a ruckus and get help.

Junmyeon lifted his hands and gathered his energy. He lowered his body into his fighting stance, and glared at the cloaked figure. “I can’t let them go with you.”

The figure tilted his head to the side. “And how will you stop me?”

There were no visible sources of water in the room, but human bodies were excellent at producing moisture when he needed water. Junmyeon pulled the sweat from his palms and drove a jet of water sharply into the cement floor. The floor cracked and crumbled at the hooded figure’s feet, and a fissure spread out across the room with Junmyeon on one side and the three men on the other. Junmyeon let half of the water splash through onto whichever teacher’s quarters he’d chosen to disturb, and pulled the rest back into a ball that hovered in front of him.

“They’ll raise the alarm,” Junmyeon said determinedly. “You’re doomed.”

The red cloaked figure started to laugh again, when suddenly the door on the fire escape opened and Minseok came bursting through.

“Catch!” Minseok shouted, flinging the bucket of water he was carrying with him into the air as he sprinted to join Junmyeon.

Junmyeon pulled the water to join the ball hovering at his waist and leveled a look at Minseok. “This is what took you so long?” he hissed.

“We’d be defenseless without the water,” Minseok muttered under his breath. “And you know it.”

“Do you know what’s going on?” Junmyeon kept his eyes on Yifan, Chanyeol and the cloaked figure, who had come together to form a triangle. Each person was facing outward, their eyes on Junmyeon, waiting for him to attack.

“Sort of.” Minseok lifted a palm and turned a small blob of Junmyeon’s water into ice, pulling it towards him. “Chanyeol came to me two weeks ago, and I…made some guesses.”

“The Red Forces came for Yifan. Yifan asked Chanyeol to join him,” Junmyeon said quietly. “They’re going to accept.”

Minseok blinked, his face settling into a steely calm. “We can’t let them.”

Junmyeon nodded, and drew his left foot back, lifting his palm. “I’ve tried to alert someone as best I can.”

Minseok nodded, and Junmyeon clapped his hands, releasing the water onto their opponents. The red-cloaked figure jumped upwards to avoid it, and Yifan and Chanyeol sprang apart. Junmyeon separated the water into two currents as Minseok began throwing shards of ice at their opponents, forcing them to twist and dodge out of the way.

There was a shout from the doorway, and Junmyeon felt a small wave of relief when he saw two teachers on the landing. One sprang into the room while the other ran back to the stairs, presumably to sound the alarm. The red cloaked figure sprang towards the teacher, and Junmyeon let himself focus on Chanyeol and Yifan.

Chanyeol and Yifan knew the strategy that Minseok and Junmyeon were trying to execute, and as a result, were trying to stay as far away from each other as possible so that Junmyeon would waste his energy.

Minseok sent a well-timed flurry of ice spikes that pushed Chanyeol and Yifan together. Junmyeon’s water caught up to them, and Minseok yelled and froze the two of them into two large blocks of ice.

Junmyeon ran across the floor towards them, jumping over the fissure in the cement. Minseok followed him, and then stopped suddenly.

“Chanyeol’s melting the ice,” Minseok said through gritted teeth, and pushed his hands towards Chanyeol. “I’ll have to contain him.”

“Okay.” Junmyeon stepped towards Yifan, only for the red-cloaked figure to drop down directly in front of him. The figure was now bearing a sword, which he swung at Junmyeon. Junmyeon ducked, and the figure cracked Yifan’s ice shell open, setting him free.

Minseok cried out, and then dropped to a crouch, sweat dripping down his face. “Use it, Junmyeon!” he gritted out. “I’ll handle Chanyeol for now.”

Junmyeon pulled the water towards him and glared fiercely at his two opponents. “It isn’t too late to stop this, Yifan!” Junmyeon whipped the water towards the cloaked figure, who jumped out of the way. Yifan flung at dagger at Junmyeon, and Junmyeon fell backwards to avoid it, bringing his water back towards him. He snapped the water behind the cloaked man’s knees, and he fell to the ground.

Yifan flung a barrage of daggers and knives towards Junmyeon, and Junmyeon was forced to run and dodge them, unable to concentrate his attention on incapacitating the red figure.

Junmyeon tried to get back towards Minseok, but luckily Yifan and the cloaked figure seemed to have their attention focused entirely on him. Junmyeon glanced back and felt his blood run cold when he saw the teacher lying limply on the ground in a puddle of blood.

Junmyeon flipped out of the way as Yifan started to close in on him, and he swung his legs out to kick the cloaked figure away from him. Junmyeon tried to draw them away from Minseok and Chanyeol, but then Minseok screamed, Chanyeol bellowed, and a rush of steam filled the room.

Junmyeon jumped up to the ceiling to crouch on a support beam, and saw Minseok lying on the ground unconscious, his energy spent. Chanyeol was running towards Yifan and the cloaked figure, who were trying to figure out where Junmyeon had gone.

It was back to three on one. Junmyeon let the steam linger in the air, unwilling to reveal his location. Against all three of them, he was doomed. But someone had gone for help, so as long as Junmyeon could hold them off—

A huge energy charged through the room, and Junmyeon fell from the rafters, nausea unsettling his stomach as he writhed weakly on the ground. Yifan, Chanyeol and the cloaked figure staggered and turned to stare at the figure who had appeared in the center of the room.

“Headmaster,” Junmyeon croaked, coughing as his throat and stomach convulsed.

“You’ve done well, Junmyeon.” The headmaster acknowledged him with a nod. “You know then, what is happening?”

Junmyeon nodded weakly and tried to force himself to his feet. Yifan, Chanyeol and the cloaked figure wouldn’t wait to strike, especially given the state he was in. “I—”

Junmyeon found himself in the cage of Yifan’s embrace, one arm pressed firmly against his waist. The other held a knife to his throat. Junmyeon closed his eyes and despaired.

“Yifan,” Junmyeon whispered weakly, barely able to keep himself upright as the headmaster’s energy overpowered all of his senses. It felt _foreign_ and Junmyeon’s entire being rejected the sensation. “You would dare to turn your knife on me?”

“I told you,” Yifan murmured in his ear, his low voice sending a thrill down Junmyeon’s spine. “You’re _weak_. This is what I would do for power.”

The headmaster was at a standstill, wary of moving to attack Chanyeol and the cloaked figure while Junmyeon was being held hostage.

“I thought you said that you cared about us,” Junmyeon murmured. “Do we really…mean nothing to you?”

Yifan’s grip on his waist tightened, and he didn’t respond.

“Why would you join them?” Junmyeon whispered. “Why?”

The headmaster raised a hand, Yifan pressed his knife against Junmyeon’s throat. Junmyeon felt the sharp edge cut into his skin, and he whimpered involuntarily.

The headmaster froze, and Yifan relaxed slightly. “Power,” Yifan answered at last. “Unimaginable power.”

“You _have_ unimaginable power,” Junmyeon argued back, the sting of his wound helping to distract from his nausea. “You can do things the world hasn’t seen, Yifan. And what about us? Your friends?”

Yifan didn’t respond. “One move, and I’ll kill him,” he called out.

The headmaster seemed resigned. Meanwhile, the cloaked figure and Chanyeol seemed to have gotten their bearings, and rushed over to Yifan.

“Can you handle things from here?” The cloaked figure asked. The voice was low and smooth, and Junmyeon decided that it was probably a man’s voice.

“I think so.” Yifan’s voice was steady as he took a step backwards, dragging Junmyeon with him. “You two go ahead. I’ll follow.”

“Hm.” The cloaked figure surveyed the two of them for a moment. “See you soon.” The man grabbed Chanyeol, and they vanished into wisps of shadow.

Junmyeon stared. The only person in the world who he knew could teleport like that was Jongin—and Jongin did it in the exact same way, with shadows sloughing off of his body when he reappeared. That hadn’t been Jongin had it? Or did Jongin have a relative who’d run off to the Red Forces?

Yifan continued to walk backwards, dragging Junmyeon with him, until they were below a hole in the ceiling. Junmyeon supposed that Chanyeol or the cloaked figure must’ve created it during the battle.

Yifan flew them through the whole, and the headmaster followed, agilely pulling himself through.

Yifan continued to walk backwards, and the headmaster continued to advance, until Junmyeon and Yifan were at the edge of the roof.

“No further,” Yifan said clearly, pressing the knife to the wound again. Junmyeon flinched as the wound stung fiercely, and he whimpered again, unable to contain himself as the Headmaster increased the command of his presence, determined to bend Yifan’s energy to his will.

Junmyeon sagged against Yifan completely, unable to keep his balance. Yifan’s arm tightened around his waist, and Junmyeon had the sudden thought that Junmyeon would be indescribably happy with this situation, if only the context was different.

Yifan flipped the knife in his hand, and the Headmaster stopped, his face going pale.

“I’ve attached an explosive to this knife. If you try and come towards Junmyeon within the next five minutes, it’ll go off.” Yifan threw the knife down between Junmyeon’s feet, and it quivered in the stone. “I’m going to leave him here.”

“Yifan.” The headmaster gave Yifan a surprisingly gentle look. “You are making a grave mistake. I can help you.”

Yifan snorted at that. “You can’t help me.” Yifan’s voice cracked. “I already know that you were planning to take Junmyeon as your apprentice after graduation.”

“That is true.” The headmaster didn’t move. “Is this why you’re defecting? You’ve found a stronger master?”

“Yes,” Yifan said after a beat of silence. Junmyeon moved slightly, trying to get his bearings back as the Headmaster decreased his presence, allowing Junmyeon to breathe. Yifan instinctively clutched onto Junmyeon tighter. “That’s why I’m going. To gain power that you couldn’t possibly give me.”

“I see.” The Headmaster gave Yifan a disappointed look.

Suddenly, something exploded between them, and dark waves of smoke rippled out into the night.

“It would seem that your help has arrived,” the Headmaster said from within the grey shadows.

“It would seem so,” Yifan agreed.

Junmyeon put his weight on his own two feet, and Yifan eased his grip on Junmyeon’s waist.

Junmyeon should put an end to this now. He should twist around in Yifan’s grip and hit the pressure point on his neck. He should…

Instead, Junmyeon slowly turned around in Yifan’s arms. He reached up and touched Yifan’s cheek.

He gave Yifan a look that conveyed all the feelings he’d been afraid to show, and Yifan gazed calmly at him.

Junmyeon stood on his toes and pressed a soft, chaste kiss to Yifan’s lips.

Yifan kissed him back, and tears welled up in Junmyeon’s eyes again.

Yifan broke the kiss, and Junmyeon stood for a moment, staring up at him.

“Please don’t go,” Junmyeon whispered.

Yifan kissed him again, and Junmyeon felt Yifan’s fingers jab sharply into his neck. Junmyeon dropped to his knees, barely avoiding hitting his head against the cement. He collapsed into a heap on his side, his eyes focusing on Yifan launching himself into the air and speeding off into the night. Junmyeon closed his eyes, and knew no more.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it for part one! I wanted to go ahead and post this--I'll be on vacation for the next few days, but part two is currently in progress. I hope to post it by Monday evening. Thanks so much for reading and enjoying, and comments are greatly appreciated!


	2. Part Two

_Part Two_

It had been two years since Yifan and Chanyeol had defected to the Red Forces. Junmyeon found himself the commander of their now ten-man cell, and right after they’d graduated, the Headmaster had appointed them to a prestigious branch of the military called EXO. EXO ran discrete, ruthless missions for whatever the Emperor of the Nation of Mountains needed to be done.

It was exhausting. All of their training, both physically and emotionally, at the academy had prepared them well for this. But sometimes, Junmyeon wished desperately that he could rely on someone. Ever since Yifan and Chanyeol had defected, Junmyeon had withdrawn from everyone and everything, afraid to trust anyone. He’d even changed his name once they’d graduated—most of the military just knew him as Suho.

He still trusted Minseok, most of the time. But after their battle on the academy rooftop, things had never quite been the same. Minseok seemed angry and embarrassed with himself for collapsing so early in the battle, and Junmyeon didn’t try and push him to talk about it. They had settled into a quiet, awkward silence over the affair. Junmyeon wondered if there would ever be a day where they could talk about it openly.

“Commander Suho!” A voice rang outside of the tent.

Junmyeon pulled himself together and got to his feet. He stepped out of the tent and bowed politely to the soldier calling him. “Yes?”

“The General wants to see you in his tent, immediately.”

“Understood.” Junmyeon saluted and began walking towards their commander’s tent at the head of the camp. He ducked through the opening and bowed again. “You asked to see me, ma’am?”

General Taeyeon nodded at him. “Welcome, Suho.” She raised a hand and pointed it at him. “Bind him. Immediately.”

The two guards at her side sprang towards him, and Junmyeon reflexively jumped out of the way, his heart pounding in his chest. Why had he dodged? If they thought that he’d done something wrong, then he was _not_ helping his case right now.

Before Junmyeon could relax his posture, he found himself frozen in place, unable to control his limbs. He sighed and relaxed his muscles as best he could as the second guard came up behind him and tied his hands behind his back.

The guard holding him in place relaxed his energy, and Junmyeon found that he could use his voice again. “General Taeyeon, what exactly is this about?”

“There’s been a breach of security. This is for your own good, Suho.” Taeyeon gave him a kind look. “Don’t struggle too hard. You should be released within a few days.”

“For my own good?” Junmyeon repeated, standing his ground when one of Taeyeon’s guards tried to drag him away. “What do you mean?”

“I mean just that.” She nodded to the guard, who gave him a more forceful nudge. “You’ll find out what’s happened soon enough.”

“My cell,” Junmyeon said suddenly. “What’ll happen to them?”

“All ten of you will be out of commission for the next few days.”

Junmyeon blinked. “Will they also receive…similar treatment?”

“You’ll find out later. Now go,” Taeyeon said firmly.

The guard pushed him, and Junmyeon stumbled a moment before allowing himself to be lead out of the back of the tent. Junmyeon wondered what on earth was going on. He had no idea if anyone in their cell had been leaking information or spying for the enemy, but he hoped with all his heart that this wasn’t the case. He didn’t trust any of them anymore, and maybe that was why he didn’t know what was happening—he’d truly failed them as a leader.

Junmyeon hung his head and let himself be manhandled into a small cell in an underground facility below the camp. The guards left him without another word, and the door closed with a great air of finality.

Junmyeon tested his bonds, but they held firm. Junmyeon let out a low growl of irritation—was he going to have to wait for a guard to come into the room before they untied him?

Junmyeon didn’t know how long he sat there, all alone, drowning in confusion and misery. What was going on? What would happen to him?

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the door opened again. Junmyeon opened his mouth, only to stare in surprise. “Minseok?”

“Junmyeon!” Minseok turned to the guard behind him, who nodded. Minseok approached Junmyeon with a pair of black bracelets.

“Energy absorbent?” Junmyeon asked, eyeing the bracelets with an air of trepidation.

Minseok nodded. “Gotta put these on you before I cut your bonds.” He snapped the bracelets over Junmyeon’s wrists, and then set to work cutting through the ropes.

Junmyeon let out a sigh of relief and rubbed at his wrists. “What’s happening? Why am I in here? Are the others—safe?” he cast a wary glance at the guard, who was standing in the doorway of the room.

“The others are safe.” Minseok looked troubled. “But…Sehun, Zitao, Luhan and Jongdae have been put into custody.”

Junmyeon sucked in a sharp breath. “Yifan’s entire team?”

“Yeah.” Minseok looked troubled. “I don’t know what’s going on. But…I have my guesses.”

Junmyeon’s eyes flickered over to the guard, and then back to Minseok. “I also have my guesses,” Junmyeon said softly. “Perhaps this is for the best.”

“I don’t know the full extent of what’s going on.”

“What do you mean?” Junmyeon frowned.

“I think it might be worse than…whatever you’re thinking,” Minseok said carefully.

“Worse?” Junmyeon repeated. It was clear that Yifan was the key theme running through the situation, but Junmyeon wasn’t sure what to think. Had Yifan attempted to reach out to them?

Junmyeon’s eyes widened. “Not again,” he said slowly. “You can’t…this isn’t…”

“I was sure if you knew that they were thinking about things or not,” Minseok said quietly. “You’ve been so withdrawn. No one seems to know what you’re thinking these days.”

“But surely General Taeyeon wouldn’t think that I would betray us!” Junmyeon spit viciously. “I would never!”

Minseok held up his hands in a sign of peace. “I know you wouldn’t,” Minseok said gently. “I don’t think she’s worried that you’ll turn traitor. I think she’s more worried that Yifan will try and talk to you.”

“So I’m bait?” Junmyeon frowned in confusion. “But wouldn’t he be more interested in talking to the others?”

The guard coughed. “One more minute.”

Junmyeon flinched, having forgotten that the guard was there.

“I don’t think anything concrete has happened yet.” Minseok got to his feet and patted Junmyeon’s shoulder. “Don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

“Okay,” Junmyeon said quietly.

“I’ll be back tomorrow.” Minseok walked out the door. “Goodbye.”

Junmyeon stared blankly as the cell door shut behind him. So, Yifan was back—either in the vicinity, or he’d actually managed to infiltrate their camp. He must have reached out to one of them—or maybe, Junmyeon and his brothers were _all_ bait for Yifan to approach them.

Junmyeon frowned and let his head fall back to hit the wall with a thunk. Perhaps he would be better off meditating and gaining control over his thoughts than running through endless possibilities.

 

 

 

 

Junmyeon woke with a start. He was still in the holding cell, and the door was closed. Junmyeon got to his feet and pressed against the door, which didn’t budge.

Junmyeon scowled down at the energy absorbing bracelets on his arms. With these on, he wouldn’t be able to control any amount of water larger than a teaspoon. They could only be removed by specially trained technicians—otherwise, the bracelet would explode.

Junmyeon pressed his ear to the door and listened. _Something_ had woken him—what was it?

Junmyeon’s eyes widened and he flung himself away from the door at the last moment. The door caved in with a crash, and Junmyeon coughed as a plume of crumbling grey paint filled the room.

Junmyeon rubbed at his watery eyes and nearly fainted when he saw the two figures standing in the doorway.

“Yifan?” Junmyeon gasped. “Chanyeol?”

They looked different. More determined. Maybe a little leaner. They both wore dark red cloaks with their hoods pushed back to reveal their faces.

“Junmyeon?” Yifan asked, surprise coloring his voice.

“I thought Luhan would be in here for sure,” Chanyeol grumbled. “I’ll keep checking the other cells. You take care of things here.”

“Chanyeol!” Junmyeon called out, but Chanyeol had already gone running out into the corridor.

Junmyeon coughed again as he peered at Yifan. He couldn’t use his magic, but he could probably put up a good physical fight against Yifan if he had to. “What’s going on?”

“You didn’t know?” Yifan started walking towards him, and Junmyeon instinctively backed away. “I’ve been talking to Luhan and Sehun for nearly two months now.”

“Two months?” Junmyeon echoed faintly. How had he not noticed that something was going horribly wrong within his team?

“You really didn’t know.” Yifan surveyed him closely. Junmyeon’s back bumped into the wall, and he held his breath as Yifan came closer and closer.

“Minseok suggested the idea to me barely a few hours ago,” Junmyeon admitted, struggling to maintain his composure as Yifan finally stopped when they were toe-to-toe.

“You’ve lost your touch,” Yifan said after a moment. “Sehun would always go to you with his problems first. I was always jealous of that.”

Junmyeon shrugged. “That really isn’t the case these days.”

Yifan leaned in. “Have you missed me, Junmyeon?”

Junmyeon’s heart ached. He _had_. He’d lost count of the times he’d cried himself to sleep because he missed Yifan so much it hurt.

Yifan leaned down and brushed their lips together, and Junmyeon shoved him away as hard as he could. “What are you _doing_?” Junmyeon hissed.

“You don’t want to pick up where we last left off?” Amusement and something darker glinted in Yifan’s eyes as he slowly got to his feet.

Junmyeon stepped away from the wall, and Yifan sprang ahead of him, cutting off his access to the door. “Absolutely not!” Junmyeon said warily, sizing up the situation. Things were not looking good for him. “You’re the enemy now, Yifan.”

“What an interesting philosophy,” Yifan drawled. “But don’t lie. I could hear your breathing quicken when got close to you. I felt your body when I kissed you. You still want me—don’t deny it.”

Junmyeon sighed. “Yifan…are you really going to recruit them?”

“Of course I am. They are ready to join us.”

“But why?” Junmyeon scowled. “Unimaginable power? Is that what you’ve gained? Is that what you hope to achieve?”

Yifan laughed. “Don’t goad me, Junmyeon. You won’t like the results.” His eyes flashed in the weak light of the cell. “If I could’ve convinced all of you to come, I would have. But you did too good of a job with your team—you instilled that pure faith you have in this country within the others. I, on the other hand, did a good job of transferring my doubts to the others.” Yifan took a step towards him, and Junmyeon held his ground. “There’s still a chance, you know. Come with me.”

“When hell freezes over,” Junmyeon said fiercely. “I won’t betray my country.”

“Surely you don’t think our nation is completely in the right,” Yifan said, changing tactics.

“I don’t,” Junmyeon agreed, stepping to the side. Yifan mirrored him, and Junmyeon saw a shadow dart past his cell door. Junmyeon swallowed harshly—was he running out of time? But he was pretty much useless with his bracelets. “But I also don’t think that the Red Forces are in the right.”

“Hm.” Yifan gave him a thoughtful look. “You know, I always thought you were rather simple, back at the academy. You always stuck to the rules. Hung out with the safe crowds. I didn’t have an ounce of respect for you until the first time we trained together, and I saw your ambitiousness.”

“Feeling nostalgic?” Junmyeon asked lightly, taking a step towards Yifan. Yifan took a step back.

“Nostalgic?” Yifan echoed. “Perhaps.”

“You’ve changed.” Junmyeon took another step forward, but this time, Yifan held his ground. “What happened to the Yifan who used to care for his comrades?”

Yifan flinched, and Junmyeon lunged forward, aiming a kick at Yifan’s head. He whirled and ducked as Yifan countered.

Yifan blocked his punch and grabbed his wrist, holding him in place. Junmyeon narrowed his eyes at him.

“What will you do?” Junmyeon challenged him. “Take care of me, as Chanyeol so delicately put it?”

Yifan flung him to the ground, and Junmyeon winced when the air was knocked out of his lungs. Junmyeon struggled to breathe as Yifan leaned over him.

Chanyeol reappeared in the doorway. “Yifan?”

“Coming,” Yifan said as Junmyeon finally managed to gasp a breath of air. “I’m bringing him.”

“Yifan, we don’t…”

Yifan twisted to look over his shoulder, and Chanyeol stopped talking. Junmyeon tried to lift his arm to punch Yifan in the face, but his body barely responded, his arm twitching faintly.

Yifan turned down to look at him and show him a slender needle, the tip coated in blood. “You didn’t even notice, did you?” Yifan shook his head and pocketed the needle. “You really are losing your touch.”

Junmyeon struggled to stay something, but his tongue felt like cotton in his mouth. He blinked blearily as the ceiling light started to swim, and he closed his eyes, unsure of when he would wake up again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Junmyeon opened his eyes. There was a dark, shadowy ceiling high above him. Junmyeon shifted his hand, and realized that he was lying on a pallet of some kind. Junmyeon slowly took stock of his body—he was bruised from his fight with Yifan, but other than that, he was fine.

Junmyeon realized that the energy bracelets had been removed from his arms. He sat bolt upright and reached towards the first source of water he could locate in the room.

A small ball of water bobbed out of his cup, and floated toward him. Junmyeon gazed around alertly, but saw no one else. It was a fairly small room—there was a window in the corner, but it was too high for him to reach. There was only one door and Junmyeon shakily got to his feet and went to it, trying to open it.

Unsurprisingly, it was locked. Junmyeon took a shaky breath and let the ball of water fall back into the cup. He massaged his temples and tried to remember. He’d fought Yifan, and Yifan had poisoned him—and had presumably brought him here. But where was here? And why had Yifan seen fit to release him from the restraining bracelets?

Junmyeon staggered and sat down hard on the ground. Yifan had poisoned him—maybe the poison was still in his system. Junmyeon slowly got to his feet, when suddenly the door swung open behind him.

Junmyeon barely avoided falling over as he stared at Yifan, who rushed over to help him. Junmyeon gritted his teeth, but let Yifan guide him to the chair beside the bed.

“Why have you brought me here?” Junmyeon asked.

Yifan shook his head. “I want to show you why I joined.” He pointed at the small stack of clothing he’d brought in. “Can you change on your own?”

Junmyeon considered his shaky limbs. “Am I still poisoned?” he ignored Yifan’s question.

“Of course you are. I can’t have you running around at your full strength,” Yifan said in amusement. “Can you change on your own? Otherwise I’ll have to help you.”

“I can do it.” Junmyeon slowly reached out to for the cloth. “Would you mind closing the door?”

“Sure.” Yifan got up and Junmyeon slowly began changing. “Don’t look,” Junmyeon said warningly.

“Why not?” Yifan smirked down at him, and Junmyeon rolled his eyes as he began changing his pants.

“Respect for my privacy?” Junmyeon suggested. “Although I suppose we are sort of past that point.”

Yifan didn’t look away as Junmyeon changed, and Junmyeon sighed through his nose. “What now?”

“Bathroom.” Yifan opened the door again and came to assist Junmyeon in getting to his feet. Junmyeon leaned heavily against Yifan as he led him down a short hallway to the bathroom. Thankfully, Yifan didn’t follow him inside, and just waited outside the door until Junmyeon was done.

“Are you hungry?” Yifan asked as he supported Junmyeon back down the hallway.

“Yes,” Junmyeon said simply.

“Someone will come by with food in a little bit.” Yifan guided Junmyeon into his chair again. “Also, I wouldn’t try molding your energy too much—the poison will just affect you faster that way.”

Junmyeon scowled and didn’t say anything.

Yifan laughed at him. “Come on, don’t be like that,” he cooed. “Besides, I’m sure that General Taeyeon has sent someone to come get you back. You won’t be here for long.”

“You’d let me go back?” Junmyeon blinked in surprise.

“If I can’t convince you to stay, then I’d have to kill you,” Yifan said quietly. “Does that answer your question?”

Junmyeon blinked. Maybe Yifan really did care about him a little bit.

A red-cloaked figure came into the room with food, and Yifan let Junmyeon eat on his own, occasionally helping dab away anything Junmyeon spilled. When he was done, Yifan set the plates to the side and helped Junmyeon stand up.

“Where are we going?”

“I’m going to show you why we joined.” Yifan adjusted his grip on Junmyeon. “Hang on.”

“What—argh!” Junmyeon clenched onto Yifan’s arms as Yifan sprang into the air and the world around them turned into a blur of light and color. It was over in moments, but Junmyeon still staggered and sagged against Yifan when they landed back on the ground.

“It’s a new movement technique I’ve developed,” Yifan said calmly, helping Junmyeon to stand on his own weight. “What do you think?”

“Impressive,” Junmyeon admitted, “But awful.”

Yifan laughed and guided Junmyeon towards a large window. “Look out.”

Junmyeon looked, and saw a group of red-cloaked figures in what seemed to be a sparring ring. As he watched, a huge ball of electricity erupted over the group and they all sprang apart from each other. The earth was torn apart as huge slabs of stone and sand erupted through the floor. The figures flung weapons and elements at each other as they fought, and Junmyeon felt a small pang of awe at the sheer power of the attacks.

“Jongdae?” Junmyeon asked, turning to look at Yifan.

Yifan shook his head. “That’s another electricity user.” He extended his arm to Junmyeon, and Junmyeon accepted it as they moved away. Yifan showed him more training rooms with incredibly powerful individuals demonstrating their sheer mastery of the elements.

“So you came here for this,” Junmyeon said softly. “You would be drawn to it.”

“Aren’t you?” Yifan shot back. “Don’t tell me that seeing all of that doesn’t stir _something_ inside of you.”

“It does,” Junmyeon said thoughtfully. “It’s probably just not what you expect.”

“What? Pity?” Yifan snorted. “Don’t bullshit me, Junmyeon. I know that you also want to attain mastery over water. You could gain it, here.”

“But that’s not all I would gain, is it?” Junmyeon asked softly. “Someone removed those energy restraints from my arms. You, somehow, have a working knowledge of poisons. What kind of missions do they have you do, Yifan? Are they really supporting the war with the Land of Pines?”

“Of course they are,” Yifan said in a low voice. “The Red Forces desire power. We would gain power if the Land of Pines expanded their borders.”

“The Tree of Life has cast its lot with the Nation of Mountains. The Red Forces would support any country that opposed it, am I right?” Junmyeon said fiercely. “How could you expect me to be moved against my country? Against my friends?”

Yifan stared at him calmly. “How can you continue to put such faith in your friends when they keep abandoning you?”

Junmyeon faltered and went silent.

Yifan gently squeezed his elbow. “You’ll have three days to decide,” he said quietly. “You know what the consequences will be.”

Junmyeon glared at him. “I won’t change my mind,” he said quietly.

Yifan shook his head. “Hang on,” he said, and suddenly, the world was a blur of colors and light. Junmyeon staggered and fell over once their feet hit the ground again, his energy spent. Yifan caught him and carefully lifted him to lie down on the pallet.

“I’ll be back later.” Yifan put a soothing hand on his forehead, and Junmyeon let out a small noise of acknowledgement. “Rest.”

Junmyeon closed his eyes as he heard the door shut. He quietly despaired even as he slid into unconsciousness.

 

 

 

The next day, it wasn’t Yifan who came to see him—instead, Chanyeol visited him in the morning. Chanyeol patiently helped Junmyeon walk around and do what he needed to do, until at last, Junmyeon was settled back in his bed.

“You must have questions for me.” Chanyeol slouched back in his chair, and Junmyeon smiled a little at the familiarity of the pose. When he slouched, the red cloak seemed less stiff and less formal, and Junmyeon was reminded of how things had been two years ago.

“Why?” Junmyeon said simply. “Power, like Yifan?”

“When the Red Forces recruited Yifan two years ago, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to get out of the compound by himself. He knew that I was hungry for power too, and well,” Chanyeol shrugged, “here we are.”

“Is it worth it?” Junmyeon asked gently. “Was this power really worth betraying us all?”

Chanyeol faltered, and Junmyeon continued ruthlessly. “You wouldn’t know how cut up Yixing was after you left,” Junmyeon said softly. “Or how often Minseok cried.”

Chanyeol pulled himself together. “Don’t even try and play this game with me,” Chanyeol sneered back. “Sehun and Luhan didn’t go to you when we approached them, and Sehun used to go to you for _everything_.”

“I guess that’s true,” Junmyeon said mildly. “I’ve changed. We’ve all changed. I don’t doubt that Minseok would kill you on sight if you ever ran into him.”

Chanyeol didn’t respond, and Junmyeon settled back into his pillows. “Is this Yifan’s grand plan to change my mind? He showed me the training grounds yesterday. Will all four of you come and pay me a visit?”

Chanyeol shrugged and got to his feet. “Maybe. Are you hungry?”

Junmyeon was almost positive that this was how Yifan was feeding the poison to him in nonlethal doses. “No.” Junmyeon closed his eyes and lay back. “I want to be alone.”

“Fine,” Chanyeol said and reached out to squeeze Junmyeon’s hand. “Junmyeon…please make the right choice.”

Junmyeon opened his eyes and studied Chanyeol’s eyes for a moment. To his surprise, they were honest and desperate—and Junmyeon wondered what Chanyeol really thought the right choice was. He squeezed back, and Chanyeol left the room.

_Finally_. Junmyeon stretched out a hand and pulled the water out of the cup on the table. Using his power, he carefully began filtering the water, until all that was left was a pure ball of liquid, and the poison.

Junmyeon diluted the poison with a bit of water and let it spill carelessly across the ground, as if his hand had been shaking when he’d brought the cup to his lips. He brought the pure water to his mouth and drank.

Junmyeon looked at the food. Most of it would be too solid for him to try and extract the poison from it. His belly let out a small grumble of dissatisfaction, but Junmyeon ignored it. He was going to have to do his best to regain his ability to mold his energy within the next two days, or else he wouldn’t even stand a chance of escaping.

Junmyeon knew that Yifan had warned him that the poison would affect him worse if he molded his energy, but Junmyeon figured that the risk was worth it. He would assess his improvements after whoever would visit him in the evening left.

That evening, Luhan came to the room.

“I didn’t know Yifan would bring you.”

Junmyeon smiled at that. “I wasn’t expecting it either.” Junmyeon leaned back against his bed. “I don’t know what he’s trying to do.”

Luhan didn’t respond to that, and for a while, they sat in silence.

“Are you disappointed in me?”

Junmyeon blinked in surprise. “Disappointed?” he echoed. “Why would you care?”

Luhan laughed. “Of course I care,” he said gently.

Junmyeon frowned and looked away. “Of course I’m disappointed,” Junmyeon said softly. “Why have you done this?”

Luhan hesitated. “Would you believe me if I said that it’s because I want to watch over them?”

Junmyeon stared at Luhan. “What?”

“The twelve of us are the closest I have to family. And you know how close I was to Chanyeol before he left.” Luhan pushed a hand through his hair. “I…I’ve been struggling with this for a long time. I’m worried about Sehun too. I don’t…I don’t know what they’ll make us do here.”

“How selfless of you,” Junmyeon said sarcastically. “You’d put a death sentence on your head just so that you could watch over your brothers on the enemy side?”

A flush rose through Luhan’s cheeks. “Of course it isn’t just that!” he snapped at Junmyeon. “You forget—I was a refugee from the Land of Pines. My ties to the Nation of Mountains were never as strong as yours.” He let out a frustrated sigh. “Try and see it from my point of view, Junmyeon. My strongest loyalties are to the twelve of us. I want room to grow and expand my powers too. The Red Forces was the best choice I was going to get.”

“Headmaster Kim was set to accept _both_ of us as his apprentices at the end of this year,” Junmyeon said, disbelief coloring his tone. “And you wanted to come here?”

“What Headmaster Kim can do pales in comparison to the powers of the Red Forces. Yifan showed you the training grounds, right? All of those people could do such amazing things!” Luhan stood up, his movements becoming increasingly agitated. “Do you think Headmaster Kim could teach you _more_ than that?”

“I do,” Junmyeon said softly. “I have no doubt of it.”

“ _Why_?” Luhan cried out in frustration. “You’re so—you’re so _blind_! You have so much blind faith in the system that it makes me sick!”

Junmyeon sighed. “Why doesn’t anyone remember the night Yifan and Chanyeol left?”

“What?” Luhan looked taken aback.

“You must’ve noticed. No one—students or teachers, remembers the day that Yifan and Chanyeol left. They know that Yifan and Chanyeol are traitors, but they can’t remember the exact circumstances of that day.” Junmyeon stared down at his hands. “It’s because Headmaster Kim wiped the _entire_ compound’s memories of that day, except for us. There are at least five hundred people who would’ve been aware of the battle and that night. And also, I’ve already been learning from Headmaster Kim.” Junmyeon lifted one of his hands to the light and eyed his fingernails. “Remember how I used to get horribly sick whenever I came in contact with another soldier’s energy? I don’t anymore after two weeks with Headmaster Kim. I’ve seen what he can do.” Junmyeon put his hand down and fixed Luhan with a pointed glare. “My faith and trust aren’t blind.”

Luhan nodded slowly after a moment. “I see.” Luhan took a step towards the door. “If we met on the battlefield, what would you do?”

Junmyeon stared Luhan straight in the eyes. “I’d strike you down without a second thought,” Junmyeon said firmly. “Don’t doubt me.”

“I see.” Luhan shook his head in either amazement or disbelief—Junmyeon couldn’t tell which one. “Goodbye, Junmyeon.”

He left the room, and Junmyeon was left to silence again. Junmyeon slowly sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He already felt stronger and more alert than he had in the morning. He slowly got to his feet and began walking around the room. It wouldn’t do to leave his muscles tired and unused, especially if he only had one more day to prepare himself for escape.

 

 

 

The next day, Sehun came. Junmyeon wasn’t at all surprised, although he hadn’t expected Yifan to be so kind to him. He’d been provided with food, a bed and clothes, and no one had come and tried to torture him for information yet. Junmyeon wasn’t relaxed, but this was far better than other times he’d been captured by the enemy.

“Sehun,” Junmyeon said gently. “I was starting to wonder whether you would come see me or not.”

“The others have already come, haven’t they?” Sehun came to sit by Junmyeon’s bedside.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Junmyeon slowly sat up.

“I couldn’t trust you to keep it a secret,” Sehun said simply. “I knew that you’d tell General Taeyeon right away.”

“Do you think so?” Junmyeon asked thoughtfully. “I’m not sure I would have.”

“You wouldn’t have joined me like Luhan, though.”

“That’s true,” Junmyeon agreed. “I wouldn’t have.”

“I’m sorry,” Sehun whispered. “I…”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me,” Junmyeon said after a couple of moments. “I think I know why you came here.”

“I always looked up to Yifan,” Sehun said hesitantly. “I think…this is the only way I can catch up with him. And with you.”

“I wonder if Headmaster Kim ever thought that his apprentice choices would lead us down this road.” Junmyeon shook his head. After rigorous testing, only Junmyeon and Luhan had been accepted. Sehun, Kyungsoo and Baekhyun had applied with them, but while Kyungsoo and Baekhyun had moved on to other masters, it seemed like Sehun had gotten stuck on the idea.

“I think he knew.” Sehun looked at the window, avoiding Junmyeon’s gaze. “I went to talk with him, after our exams were over. He told me that there was a reason that he wouldn’t take me on as his apprentice—and that the reason was so strong, he’d _never_ take me on.” Sehun sighed. “I don’t know if he was trying to play some weird mind game with me, but the rejection…stung. And then the Red Forces came for me, and I…I just want to grow. I love to fight, even if there’s no cause to the name.”

“I know,” Junmyeon said gently. As Sehun’s roommate, they’d gotten very close over the past few years. “I understand.” Sehun had always felt disadvantaged as the youngest member of their class. Junmyeon was full aware of the inferiority complex that the Red Forces must’ve played on to get him to join. “But even if I understand, I still…disapprove.”

Sehun snorted. “I figured you would.” Sehun got to his feet. “I hope you’ll change your mind. The General here can be…convincing.”

“Is he the one who convinced you?”

Sehun laughed. “He wouldn’t come all the way out to our troops just to convince me, although I heard that he did for Yifan.” Sehun’s expression soured at the slight. “No. I was on a solo mission and saw…things. They came for me soon after.”

“What did you see?” Junmyeon asked cautiously.

Sehun shook his head, and Junmyeon left it at that.

“You’re not going to try and convince me to join?” Junmyeon asked curiously.

Sehun snorted. “I already know you won’t.” Sehun got to his feet. “Yifan didn’t come in and see you at all yesterday?”

Junmyeon shook his head. “Just Luhan and Chanyeol.”

“Hm.” Sehun got to his feet. “Junmyeon…you know that Yifan brought you here for a reason, right?”

“Yes.” Junmyeon sighed deeply. He’d thought about it considerably, and he knew that no matter how much he wanted it to be true, Yifan had probably brought him here to use him, somehow. Maybe Yifan still cared about him, maybe he didn’t—but that was the truth of the matter. “What about Jongdae and Zitao?”

Sehun looked surprised. “What about them?”

“Minseok told me that all six of you had been put away.” Junmyeon frowned. “I thought that he’d come with you.”

“Hm.” Sehun looked thoughtful. “As far as I know, they hadn’t been recruited.” Sehun went to the door. “Junmyeon…be careful.”

Junmyeon half-smiled at that. “Thanks.”

Sehun left the room, and Junmyeon set about extracting the poison from what food and water he could. When that was done, Junmyeon slowly got off the bed and stood firmly on his feet. His strength was starting to come back, but Junmyeon wasn’t sure how much he could rely on himself to get out of here when the time came. The poison also held him back, because Junmyeon knew how much it would spread the poison if he dared to use it. Junmyeon growled in frustration and walked over to the door. He tried to turn the handle, but it was locked. Junmyeon resisted the urge to kick at the wall and scream. What was he going to do? Sit calmly in his bed when Yifan came tomorrow with a knife and his hand and the option of do or die?

Junmyeon froze when he heard the sound of someone coming down the hallway. He crumpled to the floor just as the door swung open to reveal Yifan and a tall, scarlet-cloaked figure.

“Junmyeon!” Yifan bent down to help him off the floor, and Junmyeon pretended that it was much more difficult for him than it really was. “Are you alright?”

“Yes,” Junmyeon said weakly. “I thought…”

“The poison is affecting him quite strongly even though he’s been receiving such low doses,” the red figure said smoothly. Junmyeon stared at the figure in shock—if his memory served him correctly, this was the same person Junmyeon had fought two years ago. “Are you sure he has _any_ potential to him?”

Junmyeon stayed silent. It would be best for them to think he was weak—it would only serve to his advantage.

“I was at Junmyeon’s side for years. I know what he’s capable of,” Yifan said dismissively.

“Who are you?” Junmyeon asked the red figure.

There was an ominous pause, and Junmyeon thought he might choke on the tension. He glanced over at Yifan, and felt a small pang of nervousness when he saw how pale Yifan had gotten.

It started as a soft tingling in the back of his knee, and then suddenly, Junmyeon felt as if his entire body was being shocked with electricity. He convulsed in Yifan’s grip, his mouth open in a silent scream.

In a flash, it was over. Junmyeon sagged in Yifan’s arms, gasping for breath.

“I don’t take disrespect lightly,” the red figure said softly. “Do you understand, Junmyeon?”

Junmyeon flushed at being addressed so intimately, but held his tongue.

“You are lucky Yifan is protecting you. If things had gone my way, we would’ve thrown you into the interrogation chamber the moment you were brought here.” The figure tilted its head. “If you decide not to join us, rest assured that I will wring your secrets out of you before casting you to your grave.”

Junmyeon didn’t say anything. Who was this person? Why were they here? Junmyeon could feel the person’s energy slowly building up, sneakily tapping up against his own. Junmyeon held his ground and refused to react.

“Hm.” The presence retracted, and Junmyeon forced himself not to react. “Interesting.” The cloaked figure stared at him for a few more moments and then turned around and left the room.

“What was that?” Junmyeon asked shakily, allowing Yifan to help him sit down. “ _Who_ was that?”

“No one you need to be worried about.” Yifan shook his head. “You’re lucky I was passing by when I saw her coming here.”

“Her?” Junmyeon echoed. The figure’s voice was low, and Junmyeon had always assumed that it was a man’s voice.

“Never mind.” Yifan got to his feet and picked up Junmyeon’s food tray. “I won’t be back until tomorrow. I shouldn’t have come today.”

“Why?” Junmyeon felt something tug at his heart. No matter how hard he’d tried to close himself off to Yifan’s betrayal, there was still something that yearned to stay by Yifan’s side. “Yifan…”

Yifan smiled, and suddenly, his eyes softened. “Don’t look at me like that,” Yifan said gently.

Junmyeon flushed and looked away. “Sorry.”

Yifan leaned in close and Junmyeon stiffened, but Junmyeon just felt something soft press against his cheek before Yifan turned away. The door slammed shut, and Junmyeon stared at it in amazement.

Had Yifan really kissed him on the cheek? Junmyeon lifted a hand to his face, and he could feel the warmth radiating from his skin.

Junmyeon didn’t understand. Junmyeon would never have guessed that Yifan would hold any feelings towards him if they hadn’t kissed goodbye two years ago. And now, even though Yifan had kidnapped him from the military prison, Yifan was still being kind. What was going on? Why was Yifan acting like this? Junmyeon knew that Yifan was the enemy, and Yifan must have the same understanding.

Junmyeon frowned and stared blankly at the wall. Yifan had kidnapped him for more than this. Junmyeon wasn’t sure what Yifan’s ulterior motive was, but Junmyeon knew that he would have to try and escape before anything could happen.

Junmyeon got to his feet and began stretching his muscles. Whatever happened next, he was going to try and break out of here tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Sorry this chapter is a bit late. Also, it's unedited because I just wanted to get this up as quickly as possible. I'm working on the next part and hope to put it up in a week or so! Thanks for reading--comments are always appreciated <3


	3. Part Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the wait! I've been moving to a new apartment over the past week and haven't had access to my computer. Enjoy the chapter! (First chapter has now been edited.)

 

_Part Three_

 

Junmyeon waited. After Sehun, no one had come to visit him except for a red-cloaked guard with a tray of food, who had also helped him down the hallway to the bathroom. Junmyeon pretended to be weak and exhausted, and he’d waited for the guard to leave before eating a little and then putting the food outside.

It was nighttime now. The sky through the small window was dark, and if Junmyeon squinted a bit, he could see a star shining dimly in the distant. Junmyeon slowly got to his feet, making as little noise as possible. He padded over to the door, and put his ear to the wall.

It was silent in the hallway. Junmyeon tried to push the door open, but was unsurprised when it didn’t budge. Junmyeon picked up a small droplet of water from his palms and ran it through a crack beneath the door, inspecting the entire surface. An image of the door formed in his mind, and he realized that the door was being held shut with a latch on the outside.

A latch on the outside. Junmyeon frowned and sent the water out into the hall, turning it into mist. He couldn’t sense it hitting anything besides the walls.

Junmyeon sent a brief prayer to the tree. If he threw his weight against the door correctly, he should be able to shake the latch free. Junmyeon gritted his teeth, gathered his weight, and _shoved_.

The door shuddered in the frame, and Junmyeon held his breath, listening for any guards who might have been alerted by the noise. There was no sound for several minutes, and Junmyeon finally dared to push the door open.

Junmyeon wasn’t surprised when the door gave, and Junmyeon quietly stepped into the hallway. If he was properly sedated with the poison as the Red Forces would believe, there wouldn’t have been a need for a stronger mechanism or more guards stationed around his quarters.

Junmyeon quietly crept down the hallway, alertly listening for any movement. He had no idea where he was within this place because he hadn’t seen any of the compound, but his main plan was to go up to a vantage point, try and figure out where he was, and then make a move to escape.

There was a loud crash, and Junmyeon froze. It sounded like it had been close, and Junmyeon had no idea where it was. Should he run back to his cell and pretend nothing had happened?

Junmyeon heard footsteps heading towards the source of the noise, and he jumped into the shadows, quietly hiding as several red cloaked figures ran past him, their sleeves rolled back. Some of them had their hoods pushed back as well, but Junmyeon didn’t recognize any of their faces.

There was silence for two minutes after that, and just when Junmyeon thought it might be safe to start going forwards again, a group of dark figures appeared at the end of the hallway. Junmyeon remained frozen in the shadows, unsure of what to do. They weren’t wearing red cloaks, but that didn’t mean that they were allies either.

Then, one of them spoke. “We should split up.”

Junmyeon would know that voice anywhere. He stepped out of the shadows. “Minseok?”

The group froze, and then Minseok turned around. “Junmyeon?”

“It’s me.” Junmyeon strode forward and pulled the hem of his shirt away from his body to reveal his Exo tattoo. It would glow faintly in the presence of his team, as it was now.

“How did you escape?” Minseok looked relieved, and as Junmyeon gazed out at Baekhyun, Yixing, Jongdae, Zitao, Kyungsoo, and Jongin, their faces had similar expressions.

Junmyeon gave all of them a smile. “They think I’ve been poisoned, so they didn’t leave much of a guard with me.” Junmyeon let his shirt drop and caught the knife that Baekhyun tossed him in midair. “I don’t suppose anyone has any extra armor with them.”

Minseok hesitated, and then passed Junmyeon his thick, grey cloak. “That’s the best you’ll get,” Minseok said shaking his head. “We thought we’d find you in considerably worse condition.”

“It would seem that Yifan still spares a soft spot for old friends.” Junmyeon tied the cloak shut around his neck. The cloth was thick and would probably spare his skin if he fell or was kicked. “What’s the plan?”

“We’ve already taken out a small team of guards. We have a few more minutes before they notice us. There’s a forest surrounding us, and General Taeyeon is waiting with backup near the edge of the fortress.” Minseok started jogging down the corridor.

“We’re not doing anything about Luhan or Sehun?” Junmyeon jogged after him. He wasn’t sure how long his stamina would hold out—he was already a bit tired from manipulating the water, and he knew that he still had some of the poison in his system.

Minseok made a small noise. “General Taeyeon said that they’d made their choice.”

“I see.” Junmyeon followed Minseok at a steady pace, his team fanning out to surround him. “How—“

Minseok hushed him and skidded to a stop. Junmyeon stopped talking as Minseok slowly poked his head around a corner, and then gave the go ahead. There was a set of stairs, and Junmyeon felt a great sense of déjà vu as he followed Minseok down the stairs. There were scraps of red thread and red fluff everywhere, and Junmyeon had to close his eyes as visceral memories bombarded his mind.

“Junmyeon?” Minseok sounded concerned, and Junmyeon opened his eyes. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Junmyeon forced himself to keep going.

“If it’s easier for one of us to carry you, tell me. We can’t waste any time.”

“Understood.” Junmyeon wasn’t used to having Minseok command him, but it made sense. Minseok had probably been appointed as the temporary leader in his absence.

Minseok lead them out of a door on one of the landings, and Junmyeon gasped in surprise when they stepped out into an open courtyard. Formidable grey walls rose up on all four sides of the courtyard, and on each floor, there were balconies and torches lit. Few people were out and about, but as Junmyeon and his brothers stood in the shadows, they would be easily looked over.

“What now?” Junmyeon murmured.

“There’s an underground entrance,” Minseok said softly. “We’ll go out through there.”

Junmyeon hesitated. Underground entrances were often quite narrow, and there was a huge risk for a bottleneck to occur. Junmyeon didn’t want to question Minseok’s leadership, and Minseok undoubtedly knew the layout of the fortress far better than Junmyeon, but still—

There was an explosion of movement, and all eight of them jumped apart from each other as a huge rock landed and shattered directly where they’d been crouched in the shadows moments before.

Junmyeon froze, his heart beating fast as he watched Yixing and Minseok run towards one corner of the courtyard while Baekhyun, Jongdae and Kyungsoo began flinging attacks at a group of three red figures who had appeared in the courtyard. Junmyeon turned to the side and saw Zitao and Jongin running towards him, their eyes wide, when Junmyeon suddenly whipped around.

Yifan stood behind him, his posture relaxed and his shoulders slouched as he gazed out at the scene playing out before him. “So you managed to escape.”

Junmyeon drew his knife. “Yes.”

“You didn’t want to wait until tomorrow for your decision.” Yifan sighed heavily, and didn’t move even as Junmyeon raised his knife threateningly. “I can’t say I’m surprised.”

“You knew this would happen.” Junmyeon sneered, even as he felt Zitao and Jongin stop right behind him. “Bait from one side to the other, am I right?”

“We knew General Taeyeon wouldn’t send anyone after just Sehun and Luhan. But _you_ —she certainly would. She couldn’t risk losing her rising star of a commander, and Headmaster Kim would’ve been displeased to lose his apprentice so close to the start of your training.” Yifan stood up straighter, his shoulders tensing as Jongin and Zitao moved forward to stand level with Junmyeon.

“Yifan,” Jongin murmured. “Is that…?”

“Yifan is on the wrong side now, boys.” Junmyeon glared at Yifan. “Don’t forget that.”

“We wouldn’t forget,” Zitao said in a low voice.

“Zitao,” Yifan said gently. “I’ve missed you.”

A sudden bolt of understanding struck Junmyeon, and the hairs on his arms raised. Junmyeon nudged Jongin’s side and pressed a set of hand signals into Jongin’s palm.

Jongin lunged for Zitao at the same time as Yifan. There was a flash of light, and Junmyeon gaped in horror when he realized that Jongin had been just one second too late.

“He’s going to collect the rest of his team,” Junmyeon said softly. “Of course. Bait for the other side…”

“I’ll get to Jongdae.” Jongin looked troubled. “I’ve never seen Yifan do that before.”

“Apparently it’s a new technique.” Junmyeon turned to face Baekhyun, Kyungsoo and Jongdae who were still fighting. “Will you be able to manage?”

“Just don’t get kidnapped again while I’m gone.” Jongin vanished in a swirl of shadows, and Junmyeon melted into the shadows of the courtyard, trying to make his way towards Yixing and Minseok unnoticed.

Junmyeon was so close—he was a few feet away, and he opened his mouth to call out to the others when a large hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

Junmyeon lashed out and tried to break free, but Yifan clamped one hand over his mouth and the other around his waist.

“Foolish,” Yifan murmured in his ear, even as Junmyeon kicked and tried to break free. “You should’ve called out sooner.”

Junmyeon bit Yifan’s hand and Yifan’s grip slacked for a moment. Junmyeon shouted, and Yixing’s head shot up, his eyes scanning around the courtyard. Their eyes connected, and Yixing grabbed Minseok, pointing towards them.

Junmyeon could feel his strength fading fast—he was still weakened by the poison, both physically and magically. Junmyeon stopped kicking and let his weight rest against Yifan when Minseok got to his feet and started running towards them.

Junmyeon couldn’t really tell what Yixing and Minseok were doing, but he guessed that they were trying to open the entrance. Junmyeon wasn’t sure what was taking them so long, but as Minseok hurled shards of ice at Yifan, Yifan dropped him and flew up into the air.

Junmyeon coughed and began crawling to get behind Minseok.

“Go help Yixing,” Minseok barked. “I’ll handle Yifan for now.”

“Yifan’s trying to get Jongdae,” Junmyeon said weakly. “Can you signal to the others?”

“Is someone on top of it?” Minseok covered them in a shell of ice for a moment as knives rained down from the sky. He let the shield drop after a few moments and threw an answering attack.

“Jongin is.”

“I’ll back him up when I’m done with Yifan.”

Junmyeon nodded and slowly got to his feet, making his way to Yixing. This was not a position he’d ever want his team to be in—Yixing was a valuable asset for either side, as he could heal any wound. Normally, Yixing would have at least two of them guarding him, and Junmyeon nearing the edge of his strength was a poor substitute.

“Someone placed a seal over the entrance,” Yixing said grimly. “They knew we were coming.”

“This is my fault,” Junmyeon murmured, tracing the inked pattern of the seal. If they could break the seal in the right places with a slash of ink or a crack in the stone, then they would be able to open the entrance. However, if they chose the wrong spot, the characters written across the stone implied that the entire courtyard would go up in flames. “I should’ve tried to break out sooner.”

Yixing shook his head. “How could you have known that this was the true aim of the Red Forces?” He hesitated for a moment. “We could just break the seal. It would put a big dent in the fortress.”

“We would all die, and there’s no need for that yet.” Junmyeon sat back and scanned the seal, furiously trying to find the solution. “I don’t know if we’ll have time for a counter seal.”

Yixing sprang to his feet and pulled out his knife. “Behind you.”

Junmyeon ducked as Yixing threw the blade, and he got to his feet. Yifan stood before him, and Junmyeon felt his heart sink when he saw that somehow, Minseok had been pulled into the fight with Jongdae, Baekhyun, Kyungsoo, and Jongin. More members of the Red Forces had appeared in the courtyard as their battle drew attention, and the five of them were fighting for their lives.

Junmyeon grit his teeth. If he was at his normal strength, the tide of the battle would have been turned easily, but the fact of the situation was that he was seriously weakened. If Yifan wanted to take Yixing with him, Junmyeon wasn’t totally sure he could stop him.

Luckily, Jongin saw them. Junmyeon quietly hoped that Jongin would be able to leave the fight to the others, even if it meant leaving Jongdae briefly unattended.

“Junmyeon.”

Junmyeon’s eyes snapped back to Yifan.

“I can see the gears in your head turning.” Yifan gestured towards the entrance. “You’re trapped here. You can’t win this one. Stop fighting.”

“You’ll have to kill me to make me stop fighting,” Junmyeon said calmly. Jongin suddenly materialized behind Yifan, a wooden staff in his hand raised to strike.

To everyone’s surprise, Yifan whirled around and engaged Jongin in hand-to-hand combat. Junmyeon had been hoping that Jongin would be able to sneak up on Yifan and take care of him without a fuss, but Yifan seemed to have sensed his presence. Junmyeon continued to go over the seal in his mind even as he and Yixing stood poised to strike at Yifan if Jongin created an opening.

Suddenly, it came to him. Junmyeon whirled around and dropped down beside the entrance stone. He summoned what energy he could and coated the knife in a sleeve of rushing water. He didn’t know if this would work or not, and Junmyeon sent a quick prayer to the Tree before stabbing downwards.

There was a flash of light and a bang, and Junmyeon found himself flying backwards through the air, his knife flying out of his hand. Junmyeon landed heavily on his back, and slowly sat up, wincing as pain lanced through his body. He smiled in satisfaction when he saw that the seal on the stone had vanished, and Yixing was crouched by the stone, heaving it up and out of place.

Junmyeon slowly got to his feet, urging his body to move as quickly as it could. He couldn’t see Yifan and Jongin anywhere, and Junmyeon began moving towards the entrance again.

Yixing was hesitating, glancing out at the courtyard. The blast had affected the larger battle—the members of the Red Forces were lying still on the ground, and Junmyeon could see Minseok urging Kyungsoo, Baekhyun, and Jongdae back to their feet.

Minseok was jogging towards them with the team. Junmyeon felt a small rush of relief as he looked around. Everything was going to be okay, they were going to make it out—

There was a flash of light, and suddenly Yifan and Jongin reappeared in the courtyard, grappling with one another. Yifan was driving down towards Jongin’s throat with a knife in hand, and Junmyeon screamed.

Yifan startled, and Jongin rolled out of the way, jumping to his feet and kicking out at Yifan’s head. Then he was gone, reappearing at Yixing’s side in a burst of shadows.

Yifan bared his teeth at them, his face bloodied and bruised as the seven of them stood at the entrance. “I won’t let you leave!”

“Jongin, take Yixing and Jongdae,” Junmyeon said quietly as Minseok stepped forward. “They’re who the Red Forces want.”

Jongin nodded and clasped hands with Yixing and Jongdae. Jongin’s powers could take him anywhere in the world, but once he started picking up passengers, the strength of his powers diminished greatly. Junmyeon didn’t know how far away General Taeyeon was, but even giving the three of them a head start was better than nothing.

And then, out of nowhere, a huge presence appeared in the courtyard. Junmyeon felt a wave of nausea pass over him, but he stood his ground, frantically looking around. The energy pressed down on him, trying to force him to his knees, but Junmyeon _refused_. Sweat formed at the back of his neck and his legs trembled, but Junmyeon refused to submit to the overwhelming magical presence that surrounded him.

Finally, it withdrew slightly, and Junmyeon found it easier to breathe. He looked around, and felt a beat of shock when he saw that everyone had fallen to the ground.

“How interesting.”

Junmyeon raised his eyes, and saw a red-cloaked figure. Her magical energy had manifested so strongly that it had taken the physical shape of bright red enormous butterfly wings emanating from her back.

“You’re _her_.” Junmyeon knew without a doubt that this was the woman who had come and threatened him earlier that day. “You were there, before.”

“Yes.” She made no move to pull her hood back, and simply stood, gazing at the eight of them. “I went to collect Yifan myself two years ago.”

“You were the cause of all of this?” Junmyeon could barely contain his rage, what little magical energy he had stirring within him. This woman, standing so serenely before him, had caused his entire world to fall apart?

“Not all of it,” the figure said calmly. “Your Headmaster made quite a few mistakes. The old man is losing his touch.”

“Headmaster Kim?” Junmyeon echoed blankly. He supposed that was true—it was Headmaster Kim’s decision that had lead Sehun to defecting, after all.

“Yes.” The red figure looked away from Junmyeon, and down at Yifan who had collapsed to the ground. “Yifan.”

“I failed you,” Yifan whispered. Junmyeon could see the effort that it took Yifan to even move his lips. “I’m sorry.”

“You’ve done well,” the red figure said. “I’ll take it from here.” She lifted her arms, and the red wings on her back lifted up.

“No!” Junmyeon didn’t know how he did it. He was barely standing upright, but somehow, he found the strength to stand in front of his brothers and spread his arms. He knew it was useless—that whatever she wanted to do, she would do. Him standing in the way wouldn’t stop her…but his body had moved on its own.

“No?” She echoed, amusement coloring her voice. “What will you do to stop me?”

They both paused when they heard a rustling noise come from the tunnel. Junmyeon blinked in surprise; the tunnel had felt empty. Junmyeon hadn’t sensed anything approaching them from the other side, and yet…

“Headmaster Kim?” Junmyeon gaped in astonishment as a wiry, white-haired man climbed out of the entrance.

“Junmyeon,” the headmaster acknowledged him. He turned away, and Junmyeon fell over when a huge surge of power filled the courtyard. The Headmaster had manifested his magical energy into the form of a pair of white doves’ wings that hovered at his shoulder blades.

“Take your comrades and go,” the Headmaster instructed him, his eyes trained on the red figure. “I’ll take it from here.”

Junmyeon slowly pushed himself to his knees. He knew how to handle this—he took a deep breath and forced himself to be calm, and allow the energy to rush over him like water over a river bed.

Headmaster Kim stepped forward and began to speak to the red woman. Junmyeon quietly crawled forward until he was next to Baekhyun.

Baekhyun looked at him with awe and admiration—something Junmyeon hadn’t seen from him in a long time.

“You have to get into the tunnel,” Junmyeon said softly. “You can move. You can do it. Hold my hand.” Junmyeon took Baekhyun’s hand and quietly enveloped them in a shell of his own energy, protecting Baekhyun from the worst of it. Junmyeon quietly helped Baekhyun crawl into the tunnel, and then started going back for the others.

Keeping an ear out on the conversation while helping his team get back to the tunnel was incredibly difficult. Junmyeon was sweating profusely and breathing harshly as he finally crawled towards Jongdae and Minseok who had fallen to the ground, side-by-side.

“The fight will be passed down beyond us,” the woman was saying. “You and I are at odds, but what do you think will happen with our apprentices?”

Junmyeon froze in place. Would they really pit him against Yifan?

“I think you might be surprised,” Headmaster Kim said calmly. “They were close, once.”

“I agree that Yifan was unusually soft towards Junmyeon,” the red woman said calmly. “But after this, he will learn to change.”

“You are blind,” Headmaster Kim said, shaking his head.

The red woman sneered, and Junmyeon fell back to the task at hand. He helped Minseok get back to the tunnel, and started crawling towards Jongdae.

“Not so fast, Junmyeon.”

Junmyeon froze in place, unable to move a muscle even as he strained towards Jongdae.

“You could only stand and move because I allowed it, but no more.” The red figure began to walk forwards, and Headmaster Kim moved to stand in front of him.

“Yifan asked that he be reunited with his brothers, and I will grant his wish.” The red figure lifted her arms and pointed at Jongdae and Yifan. To Junmyeon’s horror, they floated off of the ground towards her, away from his grasping hands.

A weak sob escaped past Junmyeon’s throat, and he fell onto his elbows when she released her hold on him.

“You are unusual, Junmyeon,” the woman proclaimed, “But you will fall against Yifan’s pure talent.”

“We’ll see about that,” Headmaster Kim said dryly.

The woman snorted and turned away, her red wings quivering in place on her back. “I have what I want. You are free to go.”

Junmyeon struggled to his feet and tried to lunge forwards, towards her, towards Jongdae, towards Yifan—

But Headmaster Kim caught him, easily holding him back. Tears streamed down Junmyeon’s face as Headmaster Kim dragged him back into the tunnel, his wings vanishing as they fell into the darkness.

The rest of his team were huddled further down the tunnel, illuminated by a ball of Baekhyun’s light.

“Junmyeon!” Minseok jumped to his feet, and then stopped. “Headmaster Kim.” He bowed, and the other boys followed suit.

“Don’t stand on formalities.” In the stark white light, Headmaster Kim suddenly looked more old and weary than Junmyeon had ever seen him. “Let’s go back.”

“Jongdae?” Jongin asked hesitantly.

Junmyeon shook his head bitterly and rubbed at his eyes when tears started to drip down his cheeks again.

Silently, they began to walk down the tunnel. Junmyeon knew what awaited him on the other side—treatment for the others. Interrogation and probably demotion for himself. He had failed to keep his team safe, and now Jongdae and Zitao were lost to the Red Forces as well.

Junmyeon didn’t understand. The Red Forces obviously had great elemental users in their ranks, from what he’d seen. Why had they taken Jongdae and Zitao away? The red woman had mentioned something about Yifan’s request, but Junmyeon himself didn’t understand why Yifan would want them back. If Yifan had wanted unimaginable power, then he would be able to lead his own team of stronger warriors from within the Red Forces.

Nothing made sense. Junmyeon’s head throbbed, and he stumbled as they continued down the tunnel. Minseok paused, and then crouched down, urging Junmyeon onto his back.

Junmyeon closed his eyes as fatigue washed over him. His muscles ached, and his head pounded. He let his head rest on Minseok’s shoulder and welcomed the empty darkness as he fell unconscious.

 

 

 

 

When Junmyeon woke up, the first thing he saw was the Headmaster sitting serenely by his bedside.

“Headmaster…”

“From now on, you should address me as ‘Master’. We will begin your training tonight.” The man moved to pour Junmyeon a glass of water. Junmyeon drank it eagerly, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand when he was finished. He felt good—stronger than he had in days. Yixing had probably dropped in to look at him.

“Thank you, Master.” Junmyeon slowly sat up. “How long have I been unconscious?”

“I had them perform the interrogation techniques on you while you slept. You’ve been asleep for nearly two days.” Headmaster Kim got to his feet. “Settle what you must by this evening. We leave at nightfall.”

“Where will we go?” Junmyeon swung his legs over the edge of the cot as Headmaster Kim walked towards the entrance of the tent. “I thought we wouldn’t be starting for at least two more months.”

Headmaster Kim paused. “Times are changing,” he said at last. “Don’t bring anything with you. I will have everything you will need.”

Junmyeon sighed in frustration as the tent flaps shuddered shut. Where were they going? How long would they be gone for? The man was enigmatic by nature, but sometimes, he was too much.

Junmyeon dressed himself and reported to General Taeyeon.

“Commander Suho.” Taeyeon looked at him gravely. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Junmyeon laughed bitterly, but didn’t say anything else.

“You appear to have gained the eye of the Red Forces. We think it’s best if you lay low for a while. Master Kim has agreed to take you away for training for a few months.”

“Master?” Junmyeon echoed. “You were his student too?”

“Only briefly,” Taeyeon said, smiling.

“What about my team?” Junmyeon’s shoulders slumped.

“They will also be out of commission.” General Taeyeon shook her head. “It’s a shame. We haven’t had soldiers like you for a long time. But it’s what the Emperor himself has declared, so we must bow to it.”

“I see.” Junmyeon sighed and got to his feet. “Are they still here?”

“Yes. They aren’t leaving until tomorrow.” General Taeyeon rose to her feet as well. “Good luck with your studies, Suho.”

Junmyeon saluted her and left the tent, his heart heavy. It was time to confront his teammates, and he really wasn’t looking forward to it.

Junmyeon strolled to the edge of the camp, gazing out at the mountains. He wondered if Master Kim would take him back home to those mountains for his training. Or would they stay here? Junmyeon turned around and gazed out at the sprawl of tents and soldiers in dark green uniforms hurrying to and fro.

It all seemed so meaningless now. Junmyeon had lost half of his team to the enemy. He’d failed his family when they needed him most, and now the enemy had five new, powerful members in their ranks.

Junmyeon sat down and crossed his legs, burying his face in his palms. How had it come to this? Where had he gone wrong?

“Junmyeon?”

Junmyeon flinched and looked up. “Baekhyun?”

“There you are. We all went in to check on you this morning, but you weren’t there.” Baekhyun sat down beside him.

“Where are the others?” Junmyeon straightened his back as Baekhyun slouched beside him.

“They’ll find us eventually,” Baekhyun shrugged. Junmyeon nodded, and they sat in silence for a while, the wind washing over them and the camp bustling behind them.

“It’s not your fault, you know?” Baekhyun leaned back on his hands. “And don’t say “what are you talking about”—I know that’s what you’re thinking. It’s the same as when Yifan and Chanyeol left.”

Junmyeon swallowed harshly and stayed silent.

“You couldn’t have known that Yifan would leave us, two years ago. You couldn’t have known that they’d target the others now.” Baekhyun picked up a piece of grass and began shredding it between his fingers. “Even if you’d tried to escape before we came for you, the Red Forces would’ve just beaten you up and put you back in your cell. They were eager to get the others.” Baekhyun dusted the grass off of his pants.

“I did know that Yifan would leave,” Junmyeon blurted out. He hadn’t told them before, and Minseok had kept quiet. “I knew. I didn’t…couldn’t stop him.”

“When Yifan makes a decision, it’s nearly impossible to change his mind,” Baekhyun said calmly, looking unsurprised. “If you really did know, then whenever you found out was probably too late. You aren’t responsible for everything that goes wrong with us, Junmyeon. We’re all living, breathing humans making decisions that lead us to our fates. Sometimes, you just have to accept that.”

“Fate,” Junmyeon snorted. “I guess I could call it that. But wouldn’t that be the easy way out?”

Baekhyun shook his head. “The Red Forces were going to get the six of them, one way or another.”

Junmyeon hummed in acknowledgement. He grateful that Baekhyun was being so calm—normally, their roles were reversed.

Baekhyun got to his feet and waved. “Over here!” he called out. Junmyeon twisted around and saw Kyungsoo, Yixing, Minseok and Jongin jogging towards them.

“Junmyeon!” Jongin dropped into a crouch in front of him. “You had us so worried when you left your tent this morning! We almost thought you’d gotten kidnapped again.”

Junmyeon smiled at that. “I had to report to General Taeyeon.” He gently wiped a smudge of dirt off of Jongin’s forehead. “Were you all practicing?”

Jongin nodded. “We’ve all been discharged, for now.” He straightened up and offered Junmyeon a hand. “It’s hard to believe. I thought we’d be serving forever.”

Junmyeon nodded. “They think we’re targets. Apparently it was orders from the Emperor himself.”

Minseok whistled lowly at that. “They probably would’ve kept us on the front lines if it’d been anyone else.”

Junmyeon nodded. “I won’t be surprised if Yixing gets called into a military hospital,” Junmyeon said dryly.

“I wouldn’t either,” Yixing said quietly, his gaze clear and direct. “Junmyeon…no one here blames you. You know that, right?”

“I know,” Junmyeon admitted, a lump forming in his throat. His brothers would never blame him for anything, and somehow, that made it even worse. “I know you won’t.”

“You shouldn’t blame yourself either,” Yixing said gently. “Yifan has been past our reach for years. You couldn’t have thought that things would change now.”

“I didn’t,” Junmyeon said softly. It was a lie—he had hoped that things might be different. That maybe, the feelings that Yifan held for him would change his mind.

“You’re lying.” Yixing shook his head. “You’ll find a way to move on, someday.”

“Someday,” Junmyeon agreed quietly. “Someday.”

“We heard that Headmaster Kim is taking you with him tonight.” Kyungsoo changed the subject, and Junmyeon felt a pang of relief.

“Yes.” Junmyeon sighed. “It seems like they’re splitting the six of us up for now.”

“We’ll be back together again before you know it,” Kyungsoo said determinedly. “We’re the best team they’ve got.”

“Yes,” Junmyeon said softly. “We are.”

They gazed at each other, quiet pride and love shining in their eyes. Junmyeon couldn’t have felt more proud of his brothers as they stood together now—even as he crumbled, they were each trying to support him in their own way. How could he have gotten this lucky when it came to his family?

The sun was getting close to the horizon, and Junmyeon turned away from the camp to look at the forest.

“I’m going on a walk. Alone.” Junmyeon stepped away. “If I’m not back in an hour, come find me.”

Minseok nodded in acknowledgement, and the five of them headed into camp while Junmyeon set off towards the forest. Soon, it would be time for him to leave with Headmaster Kim. He didn’t know when he would be back. He should collect his thoughts and clear them now, and leaving his mind open and receptive for training.

Junmyeon had only been in this forest a couple of times—his team had been constantly running missions during their two years in the army, and they rarely had time to explore the area around the camp.

Junmyeon ducked under a low-hanging branch. It was probably foolish to go out into the woods when he had just been deemed a target, but Junmyeon wanted to cherish this last bit of precious time by himself.

Junmyeon continued deeper into the forest. If he remembered right, there was a hill overlooking a small glade. It would be a good place to gather his composure.

There was a rustling to his left, and Junmyeon froze. He slowly took a step back—maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Junmyeon turned around to go back to camp, and found himself face-to-face with Yifan.

“You!” Junmyeon drew his dagger and stabbed towards Yifan instinctively.

Yifan twisted out of the way. “I can understand where you’re coming from.”

“Jongdae and Zitao,” Junmyeon said, breathing heavily. “What have you done to them?”

“Junmyeon, wait one second!” Yifan moved out of the way as Junmyeon began attacking him with a ball of water.

“Wait?” Junmyeon’s laugh came out harshly as he chased after Yifan, deeper and deeper into the woods. “Why should I _wait_? You stole them from me! From us!”

“Junmyeon!” Yifan fell on him from above, pinning him to the ground. With a start, Junmyeon realized that only a few steps more, and he would’ve fallen into a wide crevasse running through the crest of the hill.

Junmyeon lay limply, breathing heavily for a few moments. Trees blocked them from view from all sides, and ahead was an open area. No one would see them here.

Junmyeon didn’t feel any killing intent from Yifan, even as the older pinned him to the ground, firmly holding him in place. If anything, Yifan had actually _saved_ him from falling to his death.

Junmyeon relaxed fully, and Yifan slowly released the pressure on his wrists.

“I don’t understand,” Junmyeon said truthfully.

Yifan tilted his head to the side. “What don’t you understand?”

“You’re the enemy.” Junmyeon frowned. “You said so yourself, back at the fortress. But…you just saved my life. You aren’t here to kill me. What do you want?”

Yifan sighed and leaned back, his weight firm on Junmyeon’s legs. “Don’t you know, Junmyeon?”

“Don’t I know what?” Junmyeon frowned. He stared up at Yifan’s face, his head framed by the thick green boughs of the trees above him. For a wild, longing moment, Junmyeon ached to remember Yifan like this—not as an enemy, but as someone he loved, beautifully surrounded by nature.

“I’m going to keep finding you and seeing you like this, alone.” Yifan’s gaze burned into him, and Junmyeon resisted the urge to shiver.

“Why?” Junmyeon asked softly.

Yifan leaned down, putting his hands on either side of Junmyeon’s head. “Because I love you,” he murmured against Junmyeon’s mouth, “And I can’t seem to stop.”

Junmyeon’s eyes widened and his face went beet red when Yifan sealed their lips in a kiss—but he didn’t move to push Yifan away or start fighting him again. Instead, after a moment, Junmyeon closed his eyes and very hesitantly kissed back.

Yifan drew back after a moment, and Junmyeon felt the flush in his cheeks start to die down. “Yifan,” Junmyeon said softly, uncertainly. He hadn’t expected anything so soft and tender from the cold, ambitious man leaning over him. He’d never seen this side of Yifan before in his entire life.

“You’re the only thing that’s kept me sane in the Red Forces,” Yifan said honestly, leaning back again. Junmyeon sat up, and Yifan rolled off of his legs to sit next to him. “The twisted things they make us do…it would be enough to destroy anyone. And most of the magic users there are either brainwashed into fervor, or are dead on the inside.”

“And yet,” Junmyeon said softly, “You insisted on recruiting your old team. That’s what The General said, didn’t she? She said that it was all a favor to you.”

“Yes,” Yifan said after a moment. “I…I had to do it. You’ll understand, eventually.”

“Eventually,” Junmyeon scoffed, picking at the dirt beneath his hands. “I don’t know if I ever will.”

“This war won’t go on forever.” Yifan leaned back on his hands with an easy grace. “And even if it goes past our lifetimes…I think you will.”

Junmyeon hummed in acknowledgement. “You think they’ll be able to stand it?”

“That’s part of why I had to recruit all of them.” Yifan sighed and crossed his legs. “Together, if they depend on each other, they can do it. They’ll make it out alright.”

“I see.” Junmyeon drew his knees to his chest. “I don’t know if I can forgive you for this.”

Yifan didn’t seem surprised. “I understand,” was all he said.

Silence stretched out over them for a few minutes. Junmyeon wasn’t sure how much longer they had—someone was bound to notice the burst of power from their fight. A scout would probably show up here, sooner or later.

“I’m going away for training tonight.” Junmyeon shifted so that he was leaning on one palm, facing Yifan. “I don’t know how long I’ll be away.”

“I see.” Yifan seemed resigned. “I would have been shocked if Headmaster Kim hesitated after that attack.”

“You shouldn’t try to find me while I’m away,” Junmyeon said quietly. “I don’t know what he’d do to you.”

Yifan made a noncommittal sound.

“Yifan,” Junmyeon said insistently. “Promise me you won’t.”

“I won’t make any promises,” Yifan said quietly. “I told you, I can’t seem to stop.”

Junmyeon closed his eyes and kissed Yifan again, urgency and fear rising up in his blood and coiling in his heart. Yifan lifted a hand to reach behind him and spread out on his spine, pulling him closer, and Junmyeon reveled in the feeling of Yifan surrounding him.

They both felt it at the same time and drew back. The faintest essence of magical energy was heading towards them. A scout had been sent out and was probably following the path of destruction Junmyeon had left in his wake.

“I’ll see you again,” Yifan said quietly, his eyes filled with determination. “Whether it’s a month or a year from now, I’ll see you again.”

“Yes,” Junmyeon said softly. “You will.”

Yifan drew his cloak firmly around his shoulders and launched himself into the tree canopy above them, twisting and darting to avoid the branches. Junmyeon began walking away from their spot to meet the scout, whose energy was becoming clearer as he drew closer and closer.

Junmyeon located the scout with little difficulty and raised a hand in warm greeting. “I apologize,” he said quietly. “I was just blowing off some steam. I didn’t mean to raise any alarms.”

The scout shook his head at him, and they started running back towards the camp together.

Night was beginning to fall, and Junmyeon saw Master Kim standing at the edge of the camp, his arms folded as he spoke to General Taeyeon. His team was standing off to the side, and Junmyeon jogged towards them to say one final goodbye.

He didn’t know where his training would take him. He didn’t know how far, or how hard Master Kim would push him. He probably wouldn’t be the same by the time they were finished.

Junmyeon thought of Yifan, and he smiled. Even if he wasn’t the same, he had a feeling that his friends and Yifan would accept him as he was, no matter what.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I think we're about halfway through the story now! Also, I just wanted to clarify--General Taeyeon is not the same as The General of the Red Forces. The General (who is only referred to as "her" or "The General") is the leader of the Red Forces. Taeyeon is Suho's military commander. Our next chapter will pick up after a bit of time has passed. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and comments are always highly appreciated!


	4. Part Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: Hello everyone!!! I'm so sorry about the wait but I was in summer school, and it took a while to crank this baby out. I just wanted to give a shout out to all of the people who left kudos and comments--they give me immeasurable joy! Thank you!! <3 Right now the chapter unedited, and I'll remove this note when I post an edited version of the chapter. I just wanted to get this out quickly. Enjoy!

 

_Part Four_

Junmyeon groaned and fell to the ground, sweat running down his face and body.

“Very good, Junmyeon.” Master Kim leaned down and patted his shoulder. “You’ve made great progress already.”

Junmyeon looked wearily at the pool of water in front of them. The bottom half of it was still ice. “I suppose.”

“It took me months to develop the techniques for water users to manipulate ice,” Master Kim admonished him. “You’ve only been doing this for three days. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

“Yes, Master.” Junmyeon sighed and sat back on his heels. He and Master Kim had been training all day, and his energy reserves were quite low.

“Let’s stop here for today.” Master Kim handed him a towel, and Junmyeon began rubbing his forehead and neck dry. “Go clear your mind in the woods before dinner. I will cook for us today.”

“Okay.” Junmyeon got to his feet. “I’ll be back soon.” He headed off to the woods without looking back.

Two years ago, Master Kim had taken him away from the army to train him. He’d brought him far away from the front lines to the heart of the Nation of Mountains. According to locals in the village at the base of the mountain, this was Master Kim’s ancestral home.

Junmyeon was honored to be here. He trained hard, throwing his entire being into the new techniques, ideas and forms that Master Kim taught him.

However, it was heartbreakingly lonely. Junmyeon hadn’t been able to tell his friends or family where he was going, as he was basically in hiding until the military decided that the Red Forces wouldn’t target him. He _had_ managed to set up a slow correspondence with his old team in a larger town several hours travel away, but he and Master Kim only went there once a month.

Junmyeon knew it was overly sentimental, but he kept all of the letters from his team in a small folder in his room. As he’d suspected, all five of them had been split up and separated from each other. Minseok and Jongin had gone back to their hometowns, Yixing had been sent to work in a research hospital, Baekhyun was casually touring the countryside, and Kyungsoo had gone to the capitol to work. Junmyeon treasured all of the updates he received from them, and he did his best to respond and send letters to his family as well. Junmyeon couldn’t be sure that any of his letters reached them—after all, Junmyeon wouldn’t be surprised if the military had caught on to their correspondences, and intercepted them to make sure that no spies or enemies could figure out their locations. Nevertheless, he quietly hoped that his friends and family weren’t worrying about him too much.

Junmyeon slung the towel over his shoulders as he strode through the forest. Master Kim was right—he shouldn’t be too frustrated. His task was to melt the pool of ice, and he had managed to do half of it. Junmyeon figured that the next step would be to actually freeze the pool. He’d never realized how much his and Minseok’s magical abilities overlapped until his training.

Junmyeon headed towards a tree with a dark circle carved into the bark. These were magical wards that Master Kim had set up that Junmyeon wasn’t supposed to cross. Junmyeon had a charm around his neck that would alert Master Kim if he ever crossed the wards. While Junmyeon appreciated the security measure, it was also a reminder of how restricted his world was. Master Kim took him around to the village and to the town once a month, but Junmyeon still ached to come and go as he pleased.

Junmyeon stood at the edge of the border, gazing out at the trees ahead of him. In the distance, a doe bounded through the shadows. Birds chirped in the trees, and a wind rustled through the trees.

Junmyeon closed his eyes and placed his hands on the trunk of the tree, feeling the sturdy roughness of the bark. He grounded himself in reality, absorbing all of the sounds of the forest.

He opened his eyes after a moment, and blinked. A bloom of red caught his eye, and Junmyeon crouched, eyeing the spot of red with a sense of trepidation. It was just a flower, Junmyeon reminded himself. There was no way that the Red Forces knew he was here.

Then, the red spot moved, and Junmyeon realized that it was actually a butterfly. The butterfly flew towards him in meandering circles, and Junmyeon took a step back.

He was being irrational. The butterfly was just that—a butterfly. It couldn’t possibly be more than that.

The butterfly continued towards him, and Junmyeon turned around and began walking away. He paused once and looked over his shoulder. The butterfly had stopped and fallen to the ground right in front of the barrier. Junmyeon hesitated, and then started running back through the forest towards the house. No good could come from lingering.

“Master Kim!” Junmyeon called out as he stepped into the small house. “I’m back.”

“Welcome back.” The old man smiled kindly at him. “Do you feel better now?”

“Yes.” Junmyeon washed his hands and then went to sit in the kitchen. “Master…your barrier doesn’t prevent wildlife from crossing it, right?”

“That’s right. Did you see something?”

Junmyeon shifted in his seat. “It’s probably nothing,” Junmyeon said softly, “But there was a red butterfly, right on the other side.”

“A red butterfly?” Master Kim echoed.

“It reminded me of The General of the Red Forces,” Junmyeon said after a moment. “I was probably just being paranoid.”

Master Kim ignored him. “Could it cross over the barrier?”

“It had stopped right at the barrier when I left.” Junmyeon picked at his food as Master Kim sat silently for several minutes.

“Not much to be done about it,” Master Kim said at last. “I would refrain from going so close to the edge from now on.”

“Understood.” Junmyeon pushed down the irritation that rose up in him and bowed his head in obedience.

Master Kim began humming a folk song under his breath, and they want back to their usual quiet demeanor. Junmyeon got up from the table and began cleaning up while Master Kim went to sit out in the front.

The red butterfly reminded Junmyeon of other feelings he’d been ignoring for a while now. A steady ache throbbed in his heart as Junmyeon briefly thought of Yifan. So far, Yifan hadn’t sought him out, and Junmyeon was glad. Master Kim would probably kill him on the spot if he dared to cross the wards.

Junmyeon had to wonder. It had been so long since they’d last seen each other. When Master Kim deemed him ready to go back out into the world, would Yifan still love him? Junmyeon wouldn’t blame him if he moved on. Junmyeon was all alone, left to ruminate on his thoughts and studies, but Yifan was probably being deployed on countless missions for the Red Forces and meeting all kinds of people.

Junmyeon sighed deeply and shook his head, pushing those dark thoughts away. He was here to learn, and he should stay focused. Junmyeon ignored the ache in his heart and continued to clean, letting the mechanical motions of his body soothe his mind back to serenity.

 

 

 

Two weeks later, Junmyeon’s instincts proved correct. He and Master Kim stood in front of the pool of water again.

“The next step is for you to freeze the entire pool.” Master Kim lifted his hands, drew his left foot back and pushed his arms out towards the pool. In a flash, the entire pool had frozen solid, and Junmyeon cautiously rapped his knuckles against the ice, wincing and withdrawing his hand.

“Junmyeon.” Master Kim surveyed him seriously. “This is the very last thing I have to teach you. Once you master this, there is nothing more I have to offer you.”

Junmyeon nodded in acknowledgement. He didn’t _feel_ ready to do anything. Every day, he felt like he was discovering a new facet of his powers that he hadn’t understood before, but if Master Kim couldn’t take him any further, then that was that. If he was being honest with himself, Junmyeon was looking forward to spending time with his powers, looking within himself and maybe even developing new techniques.

“I expected more of a reaction,” Master Kim said dryly. “A few tears maybe. A thoughtful speech about how much you’ve learned?”

Junmyeon laughed. “They’ll come soon enough.” He lifted his hands towards the pool and melted all of the ice easily, the solid surface going back to a glassy fluid. “I’ve been feeling too cooped up here anyways. You must have noticed.”

“Yes.” Master Kim absently tugged at his beard as he gazed up at the sky. “That red butterfly you saw is concerning. It will soon be time for us to take our leave from this place.”

“Does that mean that the Red Forces have found us?”

“We would be under a full-bodied attack if they’d found us.” Master Kim turned and walked to the edge of the training area. “It only means that they will find us soon.”

“Hm.” Junmyeon tilted his head, studying the water and trying to figure out how to manipulate his water to make it become solid. He already had seven different ideas turning around in his mind. “What will you do when we’re finished here?”

“I will go back to The Academy. It has always been my home, and I’m sure Headmaster Cho could stand to have another advisor,” Master Kim chuckled.

“Headmaster Cho?” Junmyeon echoed, his mind only half on the conversation. “You promoted him?”

“I knew we would be gone for a long time. Besides, I’m aging, and Cho deserves to be rewarded for all of his efforts thus far.” Master Kim lay down and propped his hands up on his head. “I’ll be over here. Tell me when you want help.”

“Okay.” Junmyeon bit his lip and began running through his first idea as Master Kim watched from the side.

When the day was finished, Junmyeon had made a little progress on the pool, and he went for a walk through the woods to clear his mind. He’d asked Master Kim what his plans were after they finished, but Junmyeon knew that he should also think on his own plans.

There were many roads before him. He could try going back into the military, although they probably wouldn’t send him on any risky missions. He could go visit his family who had fled the warzone and gone deeper into the mountains. He could even meet up with his friends and spend some time with each of them, if he really wanted to. Baekhyun’s adventures sounded tempting, but Junmyeon also knew that he was probably exaggerating them a little bit.

He briefly entertained the idea of going to try and find Yifan. That would mean heading back towards the warzone, which the military probably wouldn’t condone. Besides, what would he gain from seeking Yifan out? Yifan had made it clear that he was on the Red Forces side, even if he did love him.

Junmyeon scowled. This was such a dangerous line of thinking—who knows what would happen to him if anyone in the military found out that he had a soft spot, much less feelings, for Yifan? He would be dead within minutes of the discovery, if not worse. For all he knew, they had already discovered, back when they’d interrogated him about his stay in the Red Fortress. Master Kim had had them perform the techniques on him while he slept, so he wouldn’t have been able to hide much.

Junmyeon shivered and paused, staring out towards the barriers. He could see the trunk of one of the barriers through a gap in the thicket, and it was _so_ tempting to go out to it and rest his palm against it, attuning himself to the steady energy of the forest.

Junmyeon took a step forward, and paused. There was a spot of red near the edge—and another, and another. Junmyeon frowned and stared very still, peering towards the barrier. They looked like flowers…

Junmyeon quietly backed away and went back towards the training compound. They hadn’t made it past the barriers yet, but he got the feeling he wouldn’t have much more time to finish his training.

 

 

 

Junmyeon threw himself into the training, determined to master the art of creating ice before the barrier was completely surrounded by red. Master Kim pushed him, urgency becoming clearer as the days passed, and Junmyeon knew that he was fully aware of the red threat starting to encircle them.

On the sixth day, Junmyeon mastered it. The pool had become a solid chunk of ice, and Master Kim beamed at him proudly.

“Well done, Junmyeon.” Master Kim pulled him forward into a hug. “I’m so proud of you.”

Junmyeon smiled hesitantly, and broke the hug after a moment. “Really?”

“Really,” Master Kim said kindly. “I’ve had many students over the years, and none of them were quite like you.”

“Thank you.” Junmyeon bowed his head respectfully, his heart swimming with emotion. Master Kim was usually stingy with his praise.

“However, I will warn you—you’ll never have fine control over the ice like your friend, Minseok. You’ll only be able to work with relatively large quantities—it takes a great strain on our magical energy to form the ice, as I’m sure you’ve felt.”

“I understand.” Junmyeon wasn’t too surprised. It had been difficult to figure out how to manipulate his energy in just the right way, and it had been utterly draining. With the entire pool frozen, Junmyeon wasn’t sure he had the energy left to unfreeze the pool. 

“Let us have one last meal together tonight. We will leave, and then part ways in the morning.”

Junmyeon bowed respectfully, his mind drifting towards the specks of red he’d seen multiplying outside of the barriers. If Master Kim thought he could last one more night, then Junmyeon would trust him.

 

 

The next morning, Junmyeon woke up early and packed his belongings. He had brought nothing with him, and he would take little with him. He ducked out of the small hut that had been his life for the past year, and saw that Master Kim was waiting for him on the front porch.

Master Kim was staring out at the training arena spread out in front of them. “You know, this was my ancestral home.”

“I know,” Junmyeon admitted. “I asked about it down in the village.”

“I see.” Master Kim looked contemplative. “It was good to be home. But now, it is time for us to leave.”

“Yes.” Junmyeon shifted uneasily. “The red butterflies…”

“We’ll deal with them.” Master Kim shifted his stance. “Come.”

Together, they walked out to one of the barrier trees. There were red flowers and red butterflies fluttering around the tree, the red nearly overpowering the green in the faint light.

“Watch.” Master Kim lifted his hand to the barrier seal and closed his eyes. Junmyeon felt a huge surge of energy, and a great wind blew through the forest, scattering the butterflies to the wind and blowing the petals off of the red flowers in a great flare of scarlet.

Junmyeon stared. “How…?”

“There is a seals master who lives in the capitol. I can send you there, if you wish. I have already told him you might come.” Master Kim stepped out of the barrier, and Junmyeon hesitantly followed suit. When they weren’t attacked on sight, Junmyeon relaxed.

“Give me his address. I was going to visit my family first, and then decide where to go next.”

Master Kim passed him a slip of paper, and they continued to the mountain in silence. Junmyeon contemplated all of the things he had learned about his powers, and himself. The time here had been lonely, but well worth the cost.

After several hours, they reached the gates of the village.

“Master Kim.” Junmyeon knelt down to the ground and pressed his head down to the ground before Master Kim’s feet. “Thank you for everything.”

Master Kim helped him back up to his feet and tenderly touched Junmyeon’s forehead. “There is no need for thanks.”

Junmyeon nodded, and held back the tears that suddenly began to sting in his eyes.

“You’ll see me again. Probably sooner than you expect,” Master Kim said gently, and Junmyeon nodded, rubbing embarrassedly at his eyes.

“I’ll see you soon, then?”

Master Kim raised his hand in farewell and blessing, and Junmyeon turned away from the village gates and continued along the path. Master Kim would stay here at the village, but Junmyeon wanted to make it to the city and see if any buses or trains would take him towards his home town. Besides, Master Kim had dispelled all over those red butterflies, but Junmyeon wasn’t sure how long it would be before they would start accumulating around him once more.

 

 

 

Three days later, after several train rides, nights in homely inns, and hikes across flourishing fields and hillsides, Junmyeon set foot in his hometown. He gazed around at the familiar alleyways and shop fronts, and smiled a little when he saw the post office. He considered opening his pack and mailing the letters to his friends straight away, but he forced himself to walk past. He could mail the letters later tonight, after he reunited with his family.

Junmyeon gazed dispassionately at the small grey house with its mauve door and shiny doorknob. There was a bike parked in the side yard, and Junmyeon extended his magic towards the house unthinkingly, checking for presences within.

He felt two bodies—a man and a woman, seated within the house. Junmyeon took a deep breath, wiped his sweaty palms on his pants, and rang the doorbell. After a moment, there was a sound within, and suddenly the door swung open to reveal a short, kindly faced woman.

“Ma.” Junmyeon smiled down at her. “I’m home.”

“Junmyeon.” She threw her arms around him, and Junmyeon hugged her back. It had been three years since he’d been home, and he missed his parents dearly.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t let you know sooner.” Junmyeon released her and went over to his dad. “Did you get my letters?”

“Letters?” Junmyeon’s mother repeated, looking confused.

Junmyeon felt a chill run down his spine. “When was the last time you got a letter from me?”

“A couple of years ago, right before you graduated from The Academy.” Junmyeon’s mother frowned. “Had you sent us more?”

“Yes,” Junmyeon said earnestly, releasing his father. “I did! But, I guess…”

“Don’t worry, Junmyeon.” His father patted his back. “Your mother and I understand these things very well.” Junmyeon sighed, and knew that his father was right—after all, his father worked in communications while his mother worked in the intelligence divisions of the army.

“I wrote to my friends,” Junmyeon said, feeling upset. “I wonder if they ever got those letters.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Junmyeon’s mother gave him a sympathetic look. “Come, let me make some food for you. It’s been so long since you’ve been home.”

“Okay.” Junmyeon hoisted his bags up over his shoulder. “Is my room still the same?”

“Yes dear.” Junmyeon’s parents drifted into the kitchen while Junmyeon went to the back of the house.

The incident with the letters cemented Junmyeon’s next course of action in his mind. He wondered if _any_ of his letters had made it to his friends, as clearly, none of his letters had made it home. He began to question whether the military had gone through all of his correspondence, and how much of it had been destroyed. He would spend a few days here, and then he would set off to meet up with all of his friends one-by-one.

Junmyeon set his bag down on his bed and took out the stack of letters that he’d kept. He began rifling through them, skimming them over for locations.

It seemed like Baekhyun was the closest one to him, having been in Green Meadows last month. Junmyeon folded the letters and put them away.

Junmyeon’s mother called out to him from the kitchen, and Junmyeon got to his feet. He would enjoy his time with his family while he could, and then he would be on his way.

 

 

A week later, and Junmyeon found himself dozing off on a bus heading off to Green Meadows. He doubted that Baekhyun was still in town, but he could ask around and see if anyone had remembered where he’d gone. Baekhyun’s personality was so bright and memorable, Junmyeon didn’t doubt that he would find his friend by the end of the week.

Junmyeon was the only passenger on the bus, but he kept his bag firmly tucked between his legs as the bus bumped and jolted over dusty roads. Junmyeon had always thought that Green Meadows was a fairly popular location, famous for its fair weather and booming honey business, but Junmyeon supposed that there were always lulls in travel no matter where one went.

Junmyeon woke up to find the bus driver gently shaking his shoulder. “Sir?”

“Yes!” Junmyeon sat bolt upright in his seat, brushing the driver’s hand off of his shoulder.

“We’re here, sir. Welcome to Green Meadows.”

Junmyeon glanced outside and saw that they were parked out on the edge of town. “Thanks.” Junmyeon got to his feet and slung his pack over his back. He got out of the bus, and then hesitated, glancing back at the bus driver. The journey had been inconspicuous, but Junmyeon couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Why had he been the only person on the bus? Why were they parked on the edge of town, rather than at a bus depot like the one they’d left from?

Junmyeon jumped out of the way just in time to avoid a dagger hurled from behind him. Junmyeon drew his own knife and spun on his heel, desperately searching for a source of water nearby, and took off into the trees.

More weapons rained down on him from above as Junmyeon jumped from side-to-side, desperately dodging the weapons. He could feel a river running a little farther into the forest, and if he could just make a little farther…

A figure in a red cloak dropped out of the trees in front of him, and Junmyeon skidded to a halt.

“What do you want?” Junmyeon asked warily, extending his magic and sensing the bus driver running towards them through the trees.

The red figure didn’t respond, and simply jumped towards Junmyeon, its arm extended over its head.

Junmyeon moved to the side at the last second, and the figure crashed into the tree right behind him. Junmyeon started running again, trying to go faster as he felt the bus driver starting to close in on him. They were _so_ close to the river. In fact, if he wanted to…

Junmyeon burst out of the trees and stopped dead when he saw the five red-cloaked figures on the other side of the riverbank. Junmyeon hesitated.

The bus driver came out of the trees behind him, and Junmyeon instinctively molded the water in the plants behind them, dragging the man down and freezing the plant stems over him in a matter of seconds.

“We were told he was a water user.” A female voice came from the red figure in the center of the group.

“Water is in everything around us.” Junmyeon lifted his hand and extended it towards her. “It simply depends on your perspective.”

Rather than manipulating the water within the woman’s body, Junmyeon lifted the entirety of the stream out of its bed, the water rushing over an invisible arc in the air.

Junmyeon waited.

After a few moments, the woman relented. “Retreat,” she said quietly, and the five of them leapt backwards into the woods. Junmyeon extended his senses and felt them vanish, including the one who’d crashed into the trees.

Junmyeon walked over to the bus driver, who was thrashing weakly against his bonds. His body heat was melting the ice, but slowly.

“What connection do you have with the Red Forces?” Junmyeon pulled his knife out of its sheath. “Don’t lie to me.”

“I have no connection!” The man looked terrified. “They offered me money to help them and I did! Please don’t hurt me!”

Junmyeon stared down at the man for a moment. “Hm.” He tapped the hilt of his dagger idly. “Where are the keys to your bus?”

“I left them in the ignition. They told me it’d be a quick job.” The man was sweating profusely, and Junmyeon could see the ice around his neck starting to dissolve more rapidly. The plant stems were crisscrossed over the man’s entire body in a soggy, messy heap. It would take him a while to disentangle himself, even after the ice had melted.

“Why did you run after us?” Junmyeon asked. “I imagine your job was only to get me here, out in the open.”

“No.” The bus driver grimaced. “They told me that the six of them were going to distract you, and that I should come up from behind and knock you out.”

“Knock me out?” Junmyeon repeated. That would be oddly soft for the Red Forces. “Did they give you a weapon to strike the blow with?”

“No.”

“Hm.” Junmyeon frowned. “Well. You’ll find your bus parked in town. I’ll try not to bang it up too much.”

“What?” The bus driver began struggling again. “Let me go!”

“Listen up,” Junmyeon said roughly, and to his amazement, the driver froze on the ground. “I don’t take kindly to attempts on my life. Things won’t go so well for you the next time we see each other.” Junmyeon turned on his heel and jogged off into the woods. He wasn’t sure how long it would take for the man to free himself from the weeds, and Junmyeon was too impatient to get to town. He’d taken a few lessons on driving back in the military, and he should be able to handle the bus pretty decently. He’d leave the bus in town and start asking questions about Baekhyun.

Junmyeon climbed into the bus and was mildly relieved to see that the keys were in the ignition, just as the man had said. Junmyeon yanked the door shut, dropped into the driver’s seat, and pulled onto the road.

He quickly realized that he had no idea where he was going. He saw a field full of parked cars, and decided to just leave the bus there. The town was small, so the driver would find his bus eventually.

Junmyeon carefully eased the bus onto a piece of open grass, killed the ignition, and left the bus with his bag, whistling a merry tune. He loved the rush of power he got when he used his magic, and he was getting a nice endorphin high from all that running and battling.

Junmyeon also felt relieved. When he realized that it was a group of six attacking him, he’d been so afraid that it would be Yifan and his team out to get him. Junmyeon knew that he’d have to be on the lookout now—the sooner he found Baekhyun, the better.

 

 

 

To Junmyeon’s amazement, Baekhyun _was_ still in town. After about half an hour of questioning, getting lost and finding his way again, Junmyeon walked into a bar and instantly spotted Baekhyun.

Baekhyun was laughing, chatting it up with a young woman in a back corner of the bar. Junmyeon hesitated—he didn’t want to spoil whatever kind of moment Baekhyun was having with the girl.

A moment later, Baekhyun looked up and they made eye contact. Baekhyun’s mouth dropped for a moment, and then he waved vigorously at Junmyeon to come over.

Junmyeon couldn’t help but feel a little pleased at Baekhyun’s enthusiasm. He hadn’t seen his friend in over a year, and he had been a little worried that Baekhyun would choose to finish his time with the girl before talking to him.

“Junmyeon!” Baekhyun got to his feet and pulled Junmyeon into a fierce hug. “I can’t believe it’s you!”

“It’s me,” Junmyeon said smiling, hugging Baekhyun back just as tightly. “I was looking for you.”

“You were?” Baekhyun sounded puzzled, and drew back. “Are you on break from your training or something?”

“Master Kim taught me all he could.” Junmyeon let go of Baekhyun’s waist and stepped back to greet Baekhyun’s partner. “Hello—General Taeyeon!” Junmyeon almost snapped into a salute, but Baekhyun caught his wrist at the last second.

“I’m off duty, Suho.” Taeyeon smiled at him, and Junmyeon felt a wave of shock. She looked much younger and carefree than the last time he’d seen her—there were no bags under her eyes, her hair was loose around her shoulders, and there was a gleam in her eye that hadn’t been there two years ago.

“You’re looking well,” Junmyeon said after a moment. “I…I have to admit, I didn’t recognize you from the entrance.”

“It took me a few moments to recognize you as well.” Taeyeon stared at him for a moment. “There’s something…different about you.”

Baekhyun patted his shoulder, and Junmyeon realized that he’d pulled up a chair for him. Junmyeon sank down into it gratefully. “What do you mean?”

Taeyeon shrugged and took a sip of her drink. “You seem different. That’s all.”

“Huh.” Junmyeon turned to Baekhyun. “So, what’ve you been up to? You wrote from here last month, and I thought you would’ve moved on.”

“I was all set to pack my bags and go to the next town, but Taeyeon wrote me and told me she’d be here this week, so I stayed.”

“How lucky for me.” Junmyeon smiled in relief. “Have you been doing well?”

“Yeah.” Baekhyun waved his hand dismissively. “You’ve been getting my letters—it’s been very relaxing, just traveling around and not having to worry about the army.”

“Right.” Junmyeon felt a pang of doubt. Would Baekhyun want to come with him at all? Junmyeon had left Master Kim for barely two weeks and he’d already been attacked. Maybe Baekhyun would want to continue his civilian life—and Junmyeon certainly wouldn’t blame him.

“So what’re you up to? I had my bets hedged that you would be off training for at least another two years.” Baekhyun tipped his drink back, and Junmyeon shook his head.

“It wasn’t safe to stay where I was any longer.” Junmyeon sighed heavily. “I would have liked to spend more time there, though.”

“Really?” Baekhyun set his glass down to the table and turned to Taeyeon. “Another drink?”

“No, thank you.” Taeyeon got to her feet. “Actually, I should get going.”

“I hope I wasn’t disturbing you two.” Junmyeon got to his feet as well. “I can always catch up with Baekhyun another time.”

“No, no.” She put a firm hand on his shoulder. “I have to catch an early train out of here tomorrow. It was good to see you again, Suho.”

“Likewise.” Junmyeon patted her hand gently. “We can walk you to where you’re staying, if you’d like?”

Taeyeon laughed. “I can handle myself.”

“Very well.” Junmyeon waited for Baekhyun to get to his feet and give Taeyeon a quick hug. “Be careful on your way back. I was…well, I was followed here. I’m not sure if I took care of them completely.”

“I see.” Taeyeon didn’t look fazed. “Thanks for the warning. Have a good night, boys.”

They waved, and she left the bar.

“You were followed here?” Baekhyun gave him a troubled look. “Are you alright?”

“Yes.” Junmyeon sighed heavily. “It was annoying though.”

“Hm.” Baekhyun hummed quietly. “So, what are you up to now? If you’ve finished training with Master Kim.”

“Well I wanted to see all of you again.” Junmyeon settled his elbows onto the counter and signaled the bartender for two glasses of water. He handed one to Baekhyun, and took a sip of his own before responding. “Then I think I’ll make my way to the capitol. Master Kim suggested I go there to learn about seals.”

“I see.” Baekhyun obediently drank his water, and Junmyeon felt a pang of nostalgia back to their army days, when they’d all gotten drunk for the first time, and Junmyeon had given Baekhyun a glass of water.

“I was wondering if you want to come with me.” Junmyeon raised tapped his fingers against the counter. “If you’re not up to much else these days…”

“It would be nice to see the others again,” Baekhyun admitted. “But…what’s the point? The military won’t take us back again, we’d be too large of a target if we all grouped up in one place. They might even put a stop to our reunion.”

Junmyeon scoffed. “I doubt they care that much about us these days. We’ve kept our heads down and disbanded as they asked for a year. The Red Forces wouldn’t view us as much of a target if we aren’t doing anything for the military.”

“That’s true.” Baekhyun gazed thoughtfully into the darkness of the bar, and Junmyeon relaxed in his seat.

“I will have to warn you, it might not be an easy journey.” Junmyeon took another sip of water. “I was attacked on my way into town.”

“Really?” Baekhyun looked shocked. “By who?”

“They were wearing the uniform of the Red Forces,” Junmyeon said softly. “There was something odd about the encounter though.”

“Who would…who would _masquerade_ as the Red Forces though?” Baekhyun asked bewilderedly. “That’s sure to draw the attention and wrath of the government on anyone’s head.”

Junmyeon shrugged. “They were too gentle for the Red Forces. I’m not sure who or what they were, but there are dangers out there.”

“I see.” Baekhyun sighed and pushed his glass away. He began rummaging around in his pockets, and let out a noise of triumph when he found his wallet. “Well, did you really think a bit of danger would stop me?”

Junmyeon smiled in relief. “I wasn’t sure. You seemed like you were really enjoying relaxing…”

“Well, it’s not as if we’re going on a mission again. And I really do miss the others.” Baekhyun laid some change on the bar and smiled at Junmyeon.

Junmyeon nodded. “Where are you staying?” he got to his feet, and Baekhyun followed suit.

“I’ve got a room in an inn nearby.” Baekhyun slung his arm around Junmyeon’s shoulders as they left the bar. “When should I be ready to take off?”

“As soon as possible.” Junmyeon leaned into Baekhyun’s side. “I’m nervous about staying in one place for too long.”

“Sounds good.” Baekhyun yawned, and together, they ambled off through the town until they reached an inn. Baekhyun pulled his keys out of his pocket and let them into his room. Baekhyun dragged Junmyeon onto the bed and curled up beside him. “Sleep,” he slurred out.

Junmyeon smiled and relaxed into the warmth of Baekhyun’s side. He drifted off to sleep as Baekhyun stroked his head, relishing in the feeling of falling asleep beside his brother.

 

 

 

The next morning, Junmyeon woke up and rubbed at his eyes. He’d slept fitfully, waking up at every little creak or noise from outside. His dreams had been odd too—a figure in a black cloak had loomed over his bedside, but when Junmyeon reached up to pull the hood away from their face, the figure vanished.

“Good morning!” Baekhyun chirped. Junmyeon sat up and looked down at the floor where Baekhyun was busily placing his belongings in a backpack. “How’re you feeling?”

“Good,” Junmyeon yawned. “Still tired. I had the oddest dreams…”

“Yeah, me too.” Baekhyun continued to pack at a calm pace, but his brow was furrowed. “I think we should leave right away.”

“Your dreams disturbed you that much?” Junmyeon frowned and got off of the bed, wandering over to a mirror and starting to comb through his hair with his fingers.

“That, and a very tired man came into the inn asking if anyone had seen you around town. Luckily, I was there and vehemently denied your presence, but we should get going.” Baekhyun gave Junmyeon a piercing look. “He said you stole his bus?”

“He helped the Red Forces attack me on my trip over.” Junmyeon shrugged and finished fixing his hair. He began straightening out his clothes, wrinkling at his faintly sweaty smell. “I didn’t hurt him, and his bus is in town somewhere.”

“You really have changed. Junmyeon in his Academy days would never have even dreamed of stealing a bus.” Baekhyun shook his head and stood up, slinging his pack on his shoulders. “I can already tell, our adventure is going to be exciting.”

“Hm.” Junmyeon straightened himself out. “Shall we go now?”

“Yeah.”

“What if the bus driver is still hanging around?”

“I have a car we can drive out of here in.”

“You have a car?” Junmyeon echoed. “Since when?”

“I bought it last year.” Baekhyun grinned proudly as they went down the back staircase of the inn. “It’s my pride and joy.”

“Alright, well let’s get going.” Junmyeon got to his feet and picked up his pack. “Lead the way.”

They loaded their things into Baekhyun’s small car and drove out of town. Junmyeon could’ve sworn that they passed the bus driver at an intersection, but then Baekhyun was speeding off onto the road out of town.

Junmyeon relaxed in his seat and turned his head to face the countryside. He actually wasn’t sure how the military would feel about all six of them reuniting again—he’d just bluffed for Baekhyun. Hopefully, though, things would go as planned. Junmyeon had been starved of the company and attentions of his brothers for far too long.

 

 

 

A few weeks later, Junmyeon found himself in the backseat of the car with Minseok. Jongin had laid claim to the front seat as Baekhyun drove. It had taken a while—a solid week of driving had gotten them to Minseok, but then they’d had to drive halfway across the country to get back to Jongin. That had taken longer than any of them had anticipated, and they’d also done a little sight-seeing along the way. It had now been a month and a half since Junmyeon had left Master Kim’s ancestral home.

Junmyeon was relieved to hear that Minseok and Baekhyun had both received all of his letters, and in turn, he’d been receiving all of theirs. It seemed like their reunion really might fly under the military’s radar.

Jongin had offered to teleport them to the capitol, where Kyungsoo was working at a construction site and Yixing was working in a research hospital. Baekhyun had protested though, insisting that they take the car with them.

“You guys, I worked really hard for this car,” Baekhyun had whined. “I don’t want to just leave it somewhere.”

“Is there somewhere we could leave it at?” Irritation showed in Jongin’s face. “There is literally no reason for us to have a car now that I’m here.”

“Jongin, the car isn’t replacing you in anyway,” Junmyeon had said gently. “It’s important to Baekhyun. Let’s just keep it.”

Jongin’s face had softened at that, and he’d begrudgingly agreed.

Junmyeon pulled his head out of thoughts of the past and looked over at Minseok, who was staring at him.

“What is it?” Junmyeon leaned his cheek against the rough material of the car seat.

“You’re different,” Minseok said after a moment.

“Everyone’s been saying that.” Junmyeon snorted and shifted his legs around. “You go spend two years on a mountain with a crazy old man and come out unchanged.”

Baekhyun laughed at that. “You and Headmaster Kim got close then?”

“Yeah.” Junmyeon smiled. “We were totally isolated, so…”

“If we were still at the Academy, I think I would’ve fainted on the spot if I heard anyone call Headmaster Kim a ‘crazy old man’,” Minseok said after a moment.

Junmyeon smiled and shrug. “I probably would have too.”

“I’m telling you, something’s changed.” Minseok eyed him closely.

“I just agreed with you,” Junmyeon pointed out. “Of course I’ve changed.”

“Hm.” Minseok gave him a look.

“Is this really the time to start grilling me about what I’ve been up to for the past two years?” Junmyeon peered up at the front seat. “Jongin’s asleep. We shouldn’t wake him.”

Minseok rolled his eyes. “Yes, we shouldn’t wake him. In fact, maybe this should wait until all six of us are together again.” Minseok poked him in the shoulder. “I’m not letting you off that easy.”

Junmyeon gave Minseok a sleepy smile. “Okay.” He yawned and batted at Minseok’s hand.

“I still find it hard to believe that Jongin’s family runs a bakery,” Baekhyun piped up from the front seat. “Or that Jongin designed their logo himself. It’s too cute!”

“Well, Jongin used to doodle all over his notebooks in class,” Junmyeon said, amused. “And he did tell us when his sister started culinary school.”

“It just seems too wholesome,” Baekhyun declared.

“Jongin is a generally wholesome person,” Minseok snorted. “Don’t be so surprised.”

“I’m excited to meet up with Kyungsoo and Yixing.” Junmyeon smiled at the thought. “We’ll have to find a place for the four of us to crash though, since Kyungsoo and Yixing have real jobs.”

“It shouldn’t be too hard,” Minseok commented. “We should all have some money saved up.”

“Yeah.” Junmyeon stared at the countryside rushing past in the darkness. His parents had (very kindly) kept some money in his bank account, and his payments from the military had been accruing interest over the past few years, but he should really pick up a job sometime soon. “Master Kim told me to go to a seals master in the capitol.”

“A seals master?” Minseok blinked in surprise. “I guess you did study seals quite a bit.”

“It should be useful,” Junmyeon agreed. “There was some weird stuff happening right before I left.”

“Weird stuff?” Minseok echoed.

“You know, the red butterflies.” Junmyeon snuggled down into his seat.

“Red butterflies?” Minseok echoed, sounding confused.

Junmyeon paused. Hadn’t he told them all about the butterflies? Maybe it had been a dream. “Right when I was finishing my training, a bunch of red butterflies took up residence outside of Master Kim’s wards. That’s the main reason I want to go to the seals master, so that I can protect myself if I have to.”

“Were the red butterflies…from the Red Forces?” Minseok asked hesitantly.

“I dunno. It would seem like it, given that they may or may not have ambushed me when I was picking up Baekhyun, but I haven’t seen any sign of them since then.” Junmyeon cracked an eye open to look over at Minseok. “Did I really not say anything?”

“Did _you_ know about this?” Minseok asked Baekhyun.

Baekhyun shook his head. “I knew about the Red Forces following him around right before we met up, but he didn’t say anything about the butterflies.”

“Sorry guys.” Junmyeon frowned, feeling slightly upset at himself. “I could’ve sworn I’d told you. It’s been on my mind so much since I left Master Kim, I guess I just assumed that I’d told you at some point.”

Minseok reached out and ran a soothing hand through his hair. “It’s okay,” he said gently. “We know now. Get some rest.”

“’Mkay.” Junmyeon closed his eyes and let sleep overtake him as they sailed across the countryside.

 

 

The next morning, Junmyeon woke up to realize that the car was no longer moving. In fact, he was alone inside of the car.

Junmyeon pushed the door open and stepped out into the cold morning air, stretching his arms over his head. Baekhyun, Minseok and Jongin were crouched outside on the pavement of a relatively empty parking lot.

“How long have you all been awake?” Junmyeon yawned and dropped down beside them.

Jongin fumbled with something in his pocket and pulled out a cigarette after a few moments. Junmyeon raised his eyebrows, but didn’t say anything. They’d all changed over the past two years, and it hadn’t been easy on any of them.

“Not long,” Minseok said after a moment. We just wanted to stretch our legs—we’re almost to Kyungsoo’s place. I wrote him right after you guys told me you’d come to get me, and he sent me back his address.”

“Cool.” Junmyeon shivered a little and frowned. He didn’t like messing around with his core temperature because that could have all kinds of disastrous repercussion with his blood flow, but he could do something with all of the water vapor in the air around them.

He concentrated, and the air around them warmed up to a comfortable temperature.

Jongin, Baekhyun and Minseok stared at him in surprise.

“What?” Junmyeon frowned and let his arms dangle out in front of him. “I was cold. Weren’t you all?”

“Yeah.” Baekhyun was the first to recover. “Thanks, Junmyeon.”

“Anytime.” Junmyeon sighed and let his weight fall further back. “I can’t believe we’re going to all be reunited so soon.”

“Me neither.” Baekhyun shook his head, and waved some of Jongin’s smoke away from his face. “I kind of lost contact with Yixing, but I’ve still been talking to Kyungsoo. He’s been really busy.”

“Hm.” Junmyeon frowned slightly. He wondered how the changes had taken their toll on Kyungsoo and Yixing. Would they be happy to see him?

A flash of red caught Junmyeon’s eye, and he whipped his head around to stare at it.

Junmyeon felt a chill run down his spine when he saw that the parking lot was empty except for them. He could just be paranoid, but there would be no harm in getting a move on.

“Let’s get going,” he said abruptly, rising to his feet. “Baekhyun do you want to switch with anyone?”

“You can barely drive, Junmyeon.” Baekhyun got to his feet, sending a puzzled look towards the corner of the parking lot Junmyeon had been looking at.

“I can take over for you,” Minseok offered. They all clambered back into the car with Baekhyun in the backseat this time and Minseok driving.

“Do you know how to get to Kyungsoo’s place from here?” Junmyeon fastened his seatbelt as Minseok began driving away.

“Jongin, there should be some maps under your seat,” Baekhyun said quickly. He leaned over the front to decipher the map with Baekhyun, and Junmyeon caught Minseok’s eye in the mirror.

Minseok sent him a questioning look, but Junmyeon just shook his head. He wasn’t sure what he’d seen, but he wasn’t going to take his chances with the Red Forces.

 

 

 

To their surprise, both Kyungsoo and Yixing came hurrying out of the small grey house that they’d parked in front of. Junmyeon jumped out of the car, and all six of them shared a warm group hug.

“It’s been so long,” Kyungsoo murmured at last. “I’m glad you guys are all here.”

The others nodded in agreement and followed Kyungsoo into the house. They shared a quick cup of tea, and then they were bustling around again—after all, both Yixing and Kyungsoo had to go to work.

“We’ll give Yixing a lift to the hospital and then find a place to stay at,” Minseok called out from the apartment entrance. “We’ll let Kyungsoo know where we go.”

“Okay.” Junmyeon poked his head out of the kitchen and smiled when he saw the four men crowded in the apartment hallway. It almost felt like it had in the military, when the six of them had been crowded into a tent that was meant for four.

“’Bye guys.” Kyungsoo leaned on his shoulders from behind and waved at the others. Junmyeon watched them go, and tried to quash the sudden feeling of foreboding that overtook him. Minseok would give Kyungsoo’s work a call and let them know where they’d found a place. It would all be fine.

“Remind me the address of the seals master you want to go to?” Kyungsoo withdrew, and Junmyeon pouted slightly at the loss of warmth. Nevertheless, he followed Kyungsoo back into the kitchen, and they sat down at the table. Kyungsoo sipped at a cup of tea as he scribbled down the address Junmyeon gave him.

“I know that neighborhood,” Kyungsoo said after a moment. “Master Kim knows some…interesting people.”

“Is it in a bad part of town?” Junmyeon asked. “If you don’t want to go there, I totally get it.”

“No, it’s not that.” Kyungsoo said quickly. “You’ll see when we get there.”

“Okay.” Junmyeon watched Kyungsoo closely as they lapsed into silence again. Finally, he mustered up the courage to speak his mind. “You must have been lonely.”

Kyungsoo’s head snapped up. A moment later, a wary expression settled in his eyes. “Not more than the others would’ve been,” he said slowly. “Maybe even less. After all, Yixing is with me.”

“But still,” Junmyeon gently pressed. “It must have been difficult.”

Kyungsoo stared at him silently, his eyes slowly warming from their shuttered caution. “You’ve changed,” he said at last.

Junmyeon rolled his eyes internally. How many times were people going to say that to him? “Yeah,” he said aloud. “I have.”

“I can’t tell what exactly has changed though.” Kyungsoo’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “You say the same things. You ask the same questions. You respond to everyone the same. It’s something else.”

Junmyeon stayed quiet, not wanting to break the moment. Maybe, if he just held out a little longer, Kyungsoo would open up to him.

Kyungsoo sighed and looked away. “You know what I’m going to say, and I know how you’ll respond,” he said softly. “I was going to say that I feel like I don’t have anything to complain about because I had Yixing, and you were going to tell me that I shouldn’t invalidate my feelings.”

Junmyeon snorted. “I probably wouldn’t have said it so succinctly. And I probably would’ve thrown something in about how each of us have had different problems in the past couple of years, but yes. You’re right, that’s what I would have said.”

Kyungsoo smiled faintly at that, and Junmyeon tilted his head to the side.

“You’ve been gone for two years, but you still have that same presence.” Kyungsoo shook his head. “I was worried things would be awkward, but we’ve been alone for five minutes and it feels just like it did back in the army.”

“I was worried too,” Junmyeon admitted, tapping the table lightly. “I’m glad you can still think of me in that way.”

Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow. “You still blame yourself for back then?”

“Are you surprised?” Junmyeon stared back evenly. He really hadn’t expected so much soul-baring to happen this early in the morning.

“Hopefully, since we’re all together now, things will change,” Kyungsoo said at last. He gulped down the rest of his tea and got to his feet. “Shall we go?”

“Let’s.” Junmyeon followed him out of the house and to his car, his thoughts drifting. He didn’t see any red in his surroundings, and as Kyungsoo drove away, Junmyeon started to wonder if the flash of red he’d seen earlier had just been a trick of the light.

 

 

 

Kyungsoo pulled to a stop in front of a small brick house. “This is the place.” Kyungsoo patted Junmyeon’s thigh. “I’ll pick you up at six. There’s a park and a small marketplace a few blocks that way.”

“Thanks.” Junmyeon got out of the car. “See you in a bit.”

Kyungsoo drove off, and Junmyeon turned to face the house. He didn’t know anything about this master, and he looked down at the paper Master Kim had given him.

 _Ailee._ No surname. Nothing else to give him a clue. Would she be a wizened old woman? Would she be young? Would she be warm or would she be stern?

Junmyeon walked up to the small brown door and raised his hand to knock. Just as his fingers were about to hit the smooth wood, the door swung open and Junmyeon pulled his hand back.

“Hello.”

Junmyeon blinked in surprise, his hand still back by his face. Before him was a gorgeous woman, her hands folded confidently over her chest. Her head was thrown back, and soft, brown hair fell in a sleek wave down to her shoulders.

The woman laughed. “That reaction never gets old,” she said, smiling in amusement.

Junmyeon blushed dark red and let his hand fall to his side. “Are you Ailee?”

“I am.” She stepped back to let him pass through the door. “You must be Junmyeon. Master Kim told me you might come.”

“Oh good.” Junmyeon politely took his shoes off and followed Ailee through a dark hallway and into a sitting room. The curtains were drawn shut over the window, but the room was well lit with a variety of lamps and tea lights.

“Sit.” Ailee pointed at two floor cushions, and Junmyeon obliged. “Would you like some tea?”

Junmyeon studied her for a moment. He’d just had tea with Kyungsoo, but he got the feeling that she would be offended if he declined. “Only if you’re going to have some,” he said at last.

“Very good, very good,” she said, tapping her nose and winking. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

Junmyeon stared after her, nonplussed. Was she making fun of him?

There was the sound of a kettle whistling and Ailee rummaging around in the distance, and Junmyeon relaxed a tiny bit. Traveling around the countryside had helped relaxed his paranoia of strangers after suddenly being reintroduced to society, but Junmyeon still didn’t trust everyone he met. Even if Master Kim had recommended that he study with Ailee, that didn’t mean that Ailee had his best interests at heart.

Junmyeon gazed around the room. He counted four tall lamps, six short lamps, twelve sets of string lights and a grand total of one hundred and three light bulbs in total. He’d just started moving on to count the number of chains of five-petal silver flowers stretched across the ceiling when Ailee came back in.

“Do you like what I’ve done with the place?” She handed him a steaming cup of tea, and set a small pot of milk and two lumps of sugar in front of him.

Junmyeon poured some milk into his tea but passed over the sugar. He looked around the room again, and tried to figure out what to say. “It’s well lit,” he said at last.

“Master Kim said that he was sure that I’d have an electrical fire within the next three days the last time he visited me,” Ailee said happily. “It’s been a few years since then, though.”

“A few years?” Junmyeon echoed. Ailee didn’t look that much older than him.

“I must say, Master Kim really has a knack for finding talent.” Ailee gave him an approving look, and Junmyeon felt his cheeks heat up at her attention.

“I haven’t even done anything.” Junmyeon took a sip of the tea and hummed in appreciation. “This is really good by the way. Thank you.”

“Of course.” Ailee smiled. “And I don’t need to see you do anything to know you’re good. Your energy is carefully controlled around you with seemingly minimal effort. You’ve already extended your energy throughout the house several times, and I would have barely noticed it if I hadn’t taken the care of placing wards all over the house.”

“Are you afraid of getting robbed?” Junmyeon took another sip of the tea. He wasn’t surprised that Ailee had seals all over the place. What else would a seals master do with their time?

Ailee laughed. “That, and then some.” Ailee took a sip of her own cup of tea. “Master Kim sent you here to learn about seals, no doubt.”

“Yes.” Junmyeon pressed his lips together. “He must have remembered how interested I was in them, back when I was in the Academy.”

“The Academy?” Ailee echoed, looking startled. “How long ago was that?”

Junmyeon hesitated. “Four or so years,” he said slowly. “I think.”

“You’re so young.” Ailee frowned and shook her head. “I never did approve.”

“Didn’t you attend the Academy?” Junmyeon asked.

Ailee threw back her head and laughed. “No, goodness no!”

“Then how did you and Master Kim meet?” Junmyeon asked, frowning.

“The Academy is a very prestigious military school, but it isn’t the only one. Master Kim and I know each other from a long time back.”

Junmyeon blinked. “Were you…classmates?”

Ailee shook her head. “No,” she said simply.

“No?” Junmyeon echoed. Was that it?

“No,” Ailee repeated. “We’ll save that story for another time. I can teach you about seals—Master Kim was vague about the circumstances, but I understand that you’re afraid of being followed.”

“Yes.” Junmyeon lowered his eyes to the ground. He still didn’t know what to think of the Red Forces incident back in Green Meadows.

“I can teach you seals to keep you safe.” Ailee paused, as if thinking to herself, and then nodded with conviction. “Yes. I can also teach you how to use them inconspicuously in your daily life.”

“Really?” Junmyeon blinked. “How much should I pay you?”

“No charge,” Ailee said firmly. “You won’t need long with me anyways. I also suspect that we won’t have too much time together.”

“What do you mean?” Junmyeon set down his teacup, alarm spreading through his chest.

“There’s no immediate danger,” Ailee said quickly. “But…I can’t imagine us having more than two weeks to put everything together.”

“Why?” Junmyeon blinked in confusion. “And how do you know?”

“I know things,” Ailee said dismissively. “I don’t want to tell you too much, but we’ll get started right away. You will come here every day for the next two weeks for five hours each day. You will learn from me, and then we will see what happens.”

“Okay?” Junmyeon half asked, half said. He was terribly confused—why did she seem so urgent? Why did she think they wouldn’t have time? Junmyeon didn’t have any plans to leave the capitol, now that he was reunited with his friends.

“Are you done with your tea?”

“Yes, thank you.” Junmyeon got to his feet. “Can I help you clear things away?”

“That’s sweet, but no thank you.” Ailee got to her feet and picked up their tea cups and pitchers. “Prepare yourself, Junmyeon. I’m a lot less patient than Master Kim.” With that, she swept off into the kitchen, leaving Junmyeon standing in her sitting room with his mouth half open.

After a moment, Junmyeon hesitantly sat down again. He crossed his legs and folded his hands, clearing his mind and sharpening his focus. If he was going to trust that Ailee knew what she was talking about, then he had better prepare himself to learn as quickly and efficiently as he could.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: So we're adding a new mentor figure to the cast! Why does she think they'll only be there for a short time? How does she know so much? What will Junmyeon learn? All those questions will be answered in the next chapter, which I hope to finish writing and posted in about a week and a half. Also, as you can see, I've decided to add technology to this modern world. I think I'm drawing the line at phones--people have landlines, but not mobile phones if that helps clarify anything. Thanks for enjoying and comments are highly appreciated! (Also, a reunion with Yifan may be in store for the next chapter~)


	5. Part Five

Part Five

True to his word, Kyungsoo picked him up from Ailee’s house at six o’clock sharp. Junmyeon’s head was spinning with symbols and charts, and he was quiet as Kyungsoo drove through the city.

“Well?” Kyungsoo prompted him. “How was it?”

Junmyeon startled out of his reverie. “She’s insane,” he said at last. “I don’t know how she manages to keep so much information inside of her head. And we barely started.”

“So she took you on?” Kyungsoo glanced over at Junmyeon, and then turned back to the road.

“Yeah.” Junmyeon’s fingers tightened around the notebook Ailee had given him. “She said some…interesting things.”

“What do you mean?”

“She said that I wouldn’t have much time with her. Two weeks at most.” Junmyeon frowned and stared out the window. “I don't know what to make of it."

“How did she know that you’d be leaving soon?”

Junmyeon shrugged. “She didn’t say. But somehow…I trust her. She knows things.”

“You just met her today,” Kyungsoo said disbelievingly. “And you trust her?”

“Master Kim vouched for her.” Junmyeon yawned. “I don’t know what to think. Also, where are we going?”

“Dinner at my place,” Kyungsoo said after a slight pause. “Apparently Yixing got off work early, so they’ve all cooked up a storm.”

“Do you know if the others figured out a housing situation?”

“Baekhyun said they found a place near me.” Kyungsoo parked on the street. “Seems like they took care of things today. You guys should be all set.”

They walked out of the car and into the house. Junmyeon felt a small wave of relief wash over him when he saw the four others seated comfortably in the kitchen, surrounded by bowls of steaming food. He’d been afraid to let the others out of his sight, given everything that had happened to them before.

Junmyeon went to Yixing first, having had the least time to talk with him today. They happily ate dinner, and Junmyeon couldn’t help the overwhelming fondness when he saw a glimmer of the old friendship they’d had back at the Academy.

Junmyeon told the others about his situation with Ailee. “I don’t know why she seemed so urgent,” Junmyeon said at the end. “What do you all think?”

Minseok frowned and tapped his fingers against the table. “She’s not a seer or something like that, right?” he asked hesitantly.

Baekhyun scoffed and poked at Minseok’s elbow. “We’ve been over this, Minseok. Seers aren’t real!”

“The closest things to seers are telepaths,” Yixing chimed in. “If there were seers, wouldn’t the governments and really, everyone have their hands all over them?”

Minseok rolled his eyes and didn’t respond.

“No, I don’t think she was a seer.” Junmyeon gave Minseok an apologetic look. “I think she’s just well informed.”

“She said it wasn’t sinister, right?” Yixing frowned. “But what could something unsinister be?”

There was a heavy silence.

Junmyeon coughed. “Maybe she was just messing with me and she’s going on vacation in two weeks,” he said with a weak smile.

The five of them shook their heads at him, but the atmosphere was significantly lightened.

“We’ll just have to wait and see what happens,” Baekhyun mumbled. “That’s all we can do I guess.”

Junmyeon hummed thoughtfully and looked around the room. “Well, we should go,” Junmyeon said at last.

“Yeah.” They got up and started cleaning off the table. Baekhyun, Minseok, Jongin and Junmyeon left Kyungsoo’s house with promises to return tomorrow.

“Ailee’s place is pretty close to my work. I can come by and take Junmyeon back there tomorrow morning,” Kyungsoo offered.

“That would be great. Thanks,” Junmyeon said, smiling. His heart sank a little at the thought—they’d be paying for a place to stay, but the others had all already managed to pick up temporary jobs. His payments were going to have to come out of his savings.

“If you have time, I could teach you how to drive for real,” Baekhyun offered on their way home. “You wouldn’t be able to drive yourself to Ailee’s place anyways because I need the car to take all of us to work, but still.”

“Thanks. Maybe I’ll take you up on that,” Junmyeon said, genuinely grateful that Baekhyun wasn’t judging him. “Where did you all find work?”

“Baekhyun and I are working at an ice skating rink.” Minseok smiled. “We’ve both been brushing up on using our powers on the sly. It’s a fun game, seeing how much we can get away with before anyone notices.”

Junmyeon smiled at that. He knew that all six of them had been keeping up the use of their powers—him with his training, Kyungsoo and Yixing with their jobs, and Baekhyun, Jongin and Minseok out of sheer discipline. It was good to hear that they were practicing. “What about Jongin?”

“Food delivery,” Jongin said, smirking. “It’s already clear that I’m the fastest one.”

Junmyeon snickered. “Just make sure to keep a low profile, you three. And take care of your bodies! There’s a lot of heavy lifting in those jobs.”

“We will,” Baekhyun said reassuringly. “But even if we do get injured, we’re back with Yixing,” Baekhyun pointed out. “You know, I didn’t appreciate how good we had it until we were all separated.”

Junmyeon smiled. “I agree.”

“Those were good days,” Minseok agreed. “I’m glad we’re back together. Even if things are different now, I really…I really missed everyone.”

Baekhyun cooed at him from the driver seat, and Junmyeon smiled when Minseok just flushed bright red and refused to look at anyone.

Junmyeon shared a fond look with Jongin and turned his head back to the neighborhoods they drove past. Hopefully, whatever Ailee thought was coming wouldn’t rip the six of them apart again.

 

 

Two weeks later, Junmyeon felt a strange sense of déjà vu. He was sitting cross-legged on Ailee’s parlor room floor with a brush in his hand a pot of ink the other hand. He’d certainly never done this before, but something about this situation felt oddly familiar.

“This is a non-water based ink.” Ailee pointed at three large jars in the corner of the parlor. “Those are for you when you leave this place.”

“Thank you.” Junmyeon took a tent peg into his lap and began to form a seal of protection on its base. “So you’re sure that I won’t be able to take lessons from you anymore?”

“I’m positive.” Ailee leaned into his lap and peered at the peg. “Don’t write the rune so big—someone could see that from a mile away, drive a crack into the peg, and your rune would be worthless.” She leaned away and handed him a bottle of clear, sour-smelling liquid. “This will remove the ink from any surface. I wrote down the method for making it in your journal already.”

“Thanks.” Junmyeon rubbed some of the clear liquid onto the peg, and watched as the black ink dissolved into a faint smudge.

“Try again,” Ailee instructed.

Junmyeon frowned and started the seal over again in the tiniest characters possible.

“Better,” Ailee said approvingly. “This is a tent peg so no one is really going to see that anyways. This is all you’re going to do today, so don’t worry.”

Junmyeon groaned internally, but finished off the seal. He picked up the next peg and began making a new set of runes.

Ailee had taught him a lot. He could make his own seals now, and they were very specific. In his patterns, he detailed the radius of the spell he wanted, the strength of the wards he wanted to alert him, the ways they showed that they’d been triggered. Junmyeon hadn’t known how complicated and specific that seals could be—he thought back to that day in the Red Fortress, and shivered softly. They were incredibly lucky that he’d seen that flaw in the seal—but what was luck anyways? Maybe it had been a test, a stall for time for the General to make her appearance.

“Stay focused,” Ailee chided him gently, bringing him back into the presence. “You’ve made a mess out of your radius specifications on this one.”

“Whoops.” Junmyeon rubbed some of the ink remover into the edge of the tent he was writing on. “Thanks.”

“If we’d had more time, I would actually have you sew the seals and runes into the hems of your gear,” Ailee sighed. “As I suspected, we didn’t have enough time.” 

“What’s going to happen?” Junmyeon bit his lip as he concentrated on forming neat lines with his tiny brush. “You said it wasn’t anything bad, but…”

“Well, not bad for you,” Ailee said wryly. Junmyeon looked at up at her.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, as a seals master my arts and services are in high demand. I don’t like to serve certain types of people,” Ailee sniffed.

“Is someone following you?” Junmyeon’s hands tightened on the tent subconsciously. “Are you in danger?”

“I wouldn’t quite say danger,” Ailee said thoughtfully. “But don’t worry about me, Junmyeon. I’m used to running and hiding.”

“Are they someone I should be concerned about? For my own safety, and my friends’?” Junmyeon finished the seal and folded up the tent canvas, next going to one of his daggers. He began writing a seal of ownership over it—this one was particularly tricky. He wanted to be warned when someone he didn’t trust was holding his dagger, but seals were easier to write when you knew who should be handling something.

“No,” Ailee said firmly. “I wouldn’t have taken you on if you were in any danger. Don’t worry about that.”

“Why can’t you tell me who they are?” Junmyeon persisted.

“They can’t know you’re expecting them,” Ailee sighed. “It’s very complicated. If we meet again in the future, I’ll explain it to you then.”

“Do you think we’ll meet again?” Junmyeon asked, genuinely curious. It was hard to imagine how they’d cross paths again.

“I believe we will,” Ailee said softly.

“Hm.” Junmyeon moved on to his next weapon, carefully marking small, discrete places on the weapons. His seals were all based around hexagons and six-pointed stars.

“A hexagon?” Ailee looked down at the seal he’d created for her on the seventh day of their sessions together. “A most interesting choice. Most seals are based around fives, or simpler yet, threes.”

“You told me to pick a number bearing significance to me,” Junmyeon said steadily, standing by his design. “Sixes have tended to crop up in my life.”

Ailee hummed thoughtfully. “Very well,” she said at last. “That will only make the design more complicated for you, but if it is as you say, a six-point design will be stronger for you than any other.”

“The greatest seals masters were blacksmiths,” Ailee said after a time. “They would create weapons with seals and patterns incorporated into their very design.”

“Would you have taught me to forge a weapon if we had the time?” Junmyeon asked teasingly.

“I have only taken one colleague of mine to that final step as a seal creator,” Ailee said solemnly.

Junmyeon stared at her. “You actually forged a weapon with a seal inside of it?” he asked incredulously.

“Yes,” Ailee said serenely. “I think, if we had the time, I might have helped you to create one as well.”

Junmyeon looked at her curiously. “It would have been an honor,” he said at last.

“Hm.” Ailee nudged him affectionately and let him finish his work in silence.

At last, it was all done. As per Ailee’s request, Junmyeon had brought all of his weapons with him to place seals upon. Ailee had provided him with the tent poles (of which she’d provided him for four tents’ worth) and other gear. He’d scratched runes for strength and dryness on the bottom of his boots, had carved small runes to reveal poison on various cooking utensils and pots. He’d then had to put a protective layer of varnish over these, to make sure that the runes wouldn’t be scratched away and rendered ineffective.

She’d given him recipes and instructions for the ink, ink remover and the varnish. “You might have to play around with them a little bit. It depends on what you have around you—but the jars I’ve given you should last you a long time.”

“How can I thank you enough?” Junmyeon felt an overwhelming surge of fondness for his mentor. She had taught him so much, and on their last day together, had taken steps to ensure Junmyeon’s application of his skills along with his safety. “This is too much.”

“There is no such thing as too much from a mentor,” Ailee sniffed. “I actually have one last thing for you.” She pulled out a small, glimmering ring.

Junmyeon took it from her, and then tilted it, looking at the inside. Inscribed along the inner band was a series of seals for protection from the elements, all based around…

“A hexagon.” Junmyeon looked up at her in surprise.

“I was inspired by your designs.” Ailee beamed at him proudly. “The seals on this ring will hopefully be of use to you in the future.”

Junmyeon had already packed up his weapons and the gear Ailee had gifted him. He slipped the ring onto his finger, and Kyungsoo honked from outside.

“Ask Kyungsoo to help you carry these things to the car,” Ailee said gently.

“Okay.” Junmyeon went out and brought Kyungsoo in, handing him the large bag full of outdoor gear. Ailee had vanished into a different part of her house, and Junmyeon sent Kyungsoo out the door. He paused on the threshold—somehow, he knew that once he stepped out of the door, he wouldn’t see Ailee again for a long time.

“Ailee?” he asked softly.

She emerged from the shadows, her eyes wide and beautiful. She stared at him for a moment, her hands propped up on her hips.

“Goodbye, Junmyeon.” She stepped closer, standing on her toes to press a soft kiss on his cheek. “Use what you learned here well.”

“Goodbye.” Junmyeon hugged her tightly, and then stepped over the threshold. He went to the car without looking back, and he didn’t say anything to Kyungsoo as they drove away.

“You seem upset,” Kyungsoo said carefully. “Is everything okay?”

“I don’t know,” Junmyeon said honestly. “I don’t think I’ll see Ailee again for a long time.”

“Did you two become very close?”

“Yeah.” Junmyeon sighed and huddled down in his seat. At times like these, when his heart ached from emotion and he didn’t how to express it, he longed for Yifan. Yifan would understand him, and what he needed.

But he hadn’t seen Yifan for more than two years at this point. Junmyeon touched his cheek and thought of Ailee’s kiss. He wasn’t sure why he suddenly felt guilty. Ailee hadn’t kissed him on the mouth—in fact, that was the most bodily contact they’d ever had. And who knew if Yifan even thought of him anymore?

“Junmyeon?”

“Hm?”

“We’re back at my place.” Kyungsoo was standing outside the car, his hand resting on the door. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.” Junmyeon quickly got out of the car and slammed the door shut, feeling a little upset with himself. Normally, thoughts of Yifan didn’t distract him like this.

Kyungsoo helped him drag the bag full of gear and his weapons back into the house. The others had, again, prepared dinner, and Junmyeon settled down with his brothers at the table, eager to hear about their work.

Yixing had was halfway through explaining the results of a new experimental treatment he was trying when the doorbell rang.

All six of them froze, staring at each other. The doorbell rang again, and Kyungsoo got to his feet.

Junmyeon automatically settled his hand on his hip, where a small dagger was hidden beneath his belt. The five of them watched as Kyungsoo went to the door, peering through the peephole.

A moment later, his shoulders relaxed and he opened the door. Junmyeon didn’t relax yet, unsure of who was on the other side.

“Taeyeon!” Baekhyun blurted out, rising to his feet.

Junmyeon blinked in surprise. General Taeyeon was indeed, standing on Kyungsoo’s doorstep. She was dressed her in dark blue military uniform, and her hair was pulled back into a tight bun.

“That’s General Taeyeon to you,” she said with a wink. “Hello boys. I wasn’t expecting all six of you to be here!”

“It’s good to see you again.” Junmyeon got to his feet and saluted her, the others following suit. “Who are you here for?”

Taeyeon’s voice darkened apologetically. “I’m here for all six of you,” she said softly, reaching into her bag and pulling out six envelopes. “The Emperor has revoked his orders, and the military is calling you to report for duty again.”

Junmyeon stared at her, shocked. He’d resigned himself to the idea of never working for the military ever again—their orders to never be used, in fear that they were targets of the Red Forces, had come from the highest level. The Emperor rarely changed his mind on anything, and for this…

“Why did the Emperor change his mind?” Minseok asked sharply. “Has something happened?”

“I’m not at liberty to discuss with you now.” Taeyeon handed the six envelopes to Kyungsoo. “I will escort you back to the border to recommence your service myself. Be ready to leave by tomorrow night.”

“Understood, ma’am.” Junmyeon saluted her again, and Kyungsoo shut the door, his face still slack with disbelief.

“They want us back,” Yixing said faintly, sitting down hard. “Who would’ve thought?”

“I thought we’d never have to go back there,” Kyungsoo said slowly, walking back to the dining table and putting the envelopes down. “They said we’d be too large of a target.”

“And yet, they’re calling us back again. All six of us, no less,” Junmyeon said softly. “Will they want us to reform Exo again?”

“With only six people?” Minseok said faintly. “Exo was possible when there were ten of us. But with only six…”

Junmyeon looked at Baekhyun, who had yet to say anything. Baekhyun had grit his teeth, and was staring at the table.

Junmyeon still felt shocked, but he knew that he had to rally his friends. “Guys, listen to me,” he said firmly. “Everything is going to be fine. Even if there are only six of us, we’ve had each other’s backs since the Academy.”

“That’s right,” Minseok said softly. “We’ve been working as a team for years.”

Junmyeon relaxed a little when he saw that Baekhyun was no longer gritting his teeth, and that Kyungsoo seemed to have composed his expression. Yixing still looked a little dazed, but Junmyeon knew that they would all need a little time to really understand what was happening to them.

 

The next night, they were ready when Taeyeon knocked on Kyungsoo’s door again. Yixing had gone to the hospital to put his experiments on hold, everyone had informed their respective employers of their military orders, and Baekhyun had even had time to take his car to a family friends’ place in the city.

Junmyeon had told the others to bring their gear to the house in the morning. He spent the whole day putting seals on everything as he had with Ailee. He explained what he’d done to the others as they waited for Ailee.

“You really learned a lot from her.” Baekhyun was inspecting the small seal on Junmyeon’s dagger, as all of their gear had already been packed up into neat boxes. There was little else, besides a change of clothes and their old uniforms (which Junmyeon was unsurprised to see that everyone had kept. It was also surprising to realize that everyone still fit into their uniforms, although it might be fair to say that Minseok and Kyungsoo’s uniforms were looking a little tighter than usual). “This seal is tiny, but so complex. I can barely understand any of it.”

“She was a good teacher.” Junmyeon thought of the three small notebooks bursting with Ailee’s instructions resting in his bag.

There was a knock at the door, and Kyungsoo opened it to reveal Taeyeon. A large, black van was sitting out on the curb behind her, engine still running.

“Are you boys ready?”

They got to their feet, each person taking their things to the van and climbing in. They sat in huddled silence for the first hour of their trip, Taeyeon also staying quiet.

At last, Junmyeon brought his head up, having had enough of silent brooding. “Where are we going?” he asked her.

“We’re going to make a stop at the Academy,” Taeyeon said evenly. “You’ll be evaluated for your return to duty there. Then I’ll take you out to the base to start carrying out missions.”

“Will we be reforming a team?” Junmyeon sat back in his seat and turned his head to lean onto Minseok’s shoulder. Minseok took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

“That will be decided after your evaluations.” Taeyeon’s voice took on a teasing tone. “I hope the lot of you have been staying in shape for the past couple of years.”

“Hm.” Junmyeon hummed softly. “Taeyeon?”

“Yes?”

“I’ve always wondered, but Master Kim never explained. How is it that he’s taught so many students with different magic types? He’s taught us, and we both have mastery over water, but he was set to take on Luhan at one point and Luhan was…” Junmyeon trailed off. He couldn’t see any of the other’s faces in the dark, but he felt Baekhyun tensing up on his other side. Maybe it was still too soon to speak of their losses.

“He wouldn’t have been able to take Luhan as far as us,” Taeyeon said after a few moments. “Master Kim is one of the few rare people born with multiple abilities. He never told you?”

“No.” Junmyeon closed his eyes and thought of his teacher. “What are his abilities?”

“Water, some telepathy and telekinesis, air, and fire. He always told me water was his strongest element, though.”

“Amazing.” Junmyeon snuggled deeper into Minseok’s side as the motion of the van started lulling him to sleep. “He was always full of secrets.”

“Yes,” Taeyeon agreed softly.

“The Academy is closer to the warzone than the capitol,” Baekhyun piped up. “How long are we going to be driving for?”

“All night long,” Taeyeon said cheerfully. “So get yourselves settled in.”

Baekhyun and Yixing groaned, having boxed themselves furthest into the back. Taeyeon laughed at them, and Junmyeon drifted into his dreams with a small smile on his face. They’d always gotten along well with Taeyeon, and he wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to bring them back into service.

Junmyeon woke up to the car still moving. The deep even breathing surrounding him on all sides told him that the other five boys were all asleep. Junmyeon peered at Taeyeon’s windshield, and saw that the sun had started rising in the east.

Taeyeon brought the van to a stop, and twisted around in her seat. “We’re here,” she said loudly, bringing the others out of their dreams. “Hop on out, everyone.”

They climbed out of the van, and Junmyeon gazed up at the Academy. It was a tall, multi-floored building. The outsides were painted forest green and tan, true to the colors of their nations’ flag. Within, Junmyeon knew that the halls were grimy, ancient concrete where footsteps echoed but whispers were dampened.

Beside him, Jongin had pulled a cigarette and his lighter out of his jacket. The acrid smell of the smoke drifted through the air, and Junmyeon wondered if Taeyeon would say something.

“I feel like I’ve seen the outside of the Academy so few times,” Kyungsoo said quietly.

“We were rarely let back out once we were in,” Yixing agreed. “I wonder…”

Jongin stamped his cigarette out on the ground. “What?”

“Never mind,” Yixing said, shaking his head.

“Are you done reminiscing?” Taeyeon was tapping her foot impatiently. “Let’s go in. You’ll undergo your mental evaluations first.”

“What about our gear?” Junmyeon looked at the van, which was parked in a parking space in front. Sure, it was within the school gates, but he still didn’t feel safe.

“I’ll have them brought up to your quarters. We’ll be here for a few days,” Taeyeon said. “It’s all very safe. Now come.”

They followed her back into the Academy. Junmyeon looked around the dreary halls, and they passed a few groups of students.

The students burst into excited whispers at the six of them—and they must have looked strange, six men dressed in civilian clothes following an army general. They went through the familiar route to the psychology department.

“Doctor Luna?” Taeyeon marched up to the front desk. “Six returning soldiers need evaluation.”

Junmyeon recognized Luna when he saw her. She’d been eliminated from the class above them many years ago, but had reentered the Academy under the psychology department. Apparently, she was much better suited for this if she’d lasted this long here.

“I got your message,” Luna responded. “I’ll take Kyungsoo first.”

Kyungsoo stepped forward readily, and they settled into chairs to wait their turns.

“I’m going to go move your things to your quarters,” Taeyeon said. “I’ll be back soon.”

Junmyeon knew that she would be searching through their belongings. It was standard procedure, to check for any signs that they might be spies, traitors, or if they had any contraband items on them. 

Junmyeon didn’t think she’d notice the seals. She would be thorough in her check, but the seals were well concealed. They were sewn in beneath a concealing patch of fabric on his tent, covered over by an extra layer of opaque, darkened lacquer on the tent poles, cooking utensils and weapons. She would have to have a sharp eye to think them anything other than scratch marks.

Junmyeon didn’t think it would be a problem if she did discover how everything they’d brought was covered in protective seals, but his instincts were telling him to keep his lessons from Ailee a secret for the time being. Besides, the more people that knew he was now knowledgeable in seals would just grow, and maybe even spread over to the Red Forces if he let it out now. It would be best to keep it as a trick up their sleeve for the time being.

Junmyeon leaned back in his chair, his eyes half-lidded as he looked around their surroundings. The office was trying to exude a false sense of security with its warm color palette and calming atmosphere, but Junmyeon started arming himself mentally as he waited for his turn for evaluation.

 

The evaluations were exhausting both mentally and physically, and Junmyeon felt relieved when they were finally cleared for duty a few days later. They packed their boxes of gear back into the van and Taeyeon started driving them out towards the military encampment they’d been deployed for.

Junmyeon hesitated before getting into the van. He gazed at the academy building, and silently wondered if Master Kim was residing somewhere within the concrete walls. They were so close—and yet, so far all at once. He didn’t feel disheartened though—Master Kim had promised him that they would meet again, and if that wasn’t today, that was alright. Junmyeon believed that someday, it really would happen.

“You know, I’m impressed you brought all of your old gear with you,” Taeyeon said conversationally as she started driving. “We can reissue you brand new gear if you want. You all brought your old tents and everything.”

Junmyeon smiled thinly. “I’m more impressed that we kept our things in good condition.”

Taeyeon shrugged. “Have it your way,” was all she said. “You know, I’m truly honored to be your general again.”

“We’re honored to be under you command again,” Baekhyun spoke out.

Kyungsoo nudged him in the side and winked, and Baekhyun rolled his eyes in retaliation. They’d had a brief discussion about how Baekhyun had been meeting up with Taeyeon when she was off duty—it was no secret that Baekhyun had admired her ever since she’d been assigned as their commanding officer.

“You’ll be heading off on a small mission the moment we get back to the base,” Taeyeon said calmly. “A group of soldiers were scouting an area, and one of them says he saw traces recent human activity. They had taken photos of the scene, but were ambushed on their way back to the base. They told me the ambush seemed unrelated to what they’d been doing. I want you to find that camera.”

Junmyeon snorted. It shouldn’t be a problem for them—Kyungsoo’s affinity for the earth made it easy for their team to track down people and objects. “Will Yixing be joining us for this mission?” Normally, Yixing's abilities were such a huge target that he rarely followed them directly to the mission site.

“Us?” Taeyeon echoed. “Oh, no. This is a solo mission for you.”

Junmyeon blinked. “What?”

“What?” Minseok echoed, his hands balling into fists. “We’re back and the first thing you want is to send Junmyeon to risk his neck, alone?”

Taeyeon paused. “Would you like me to call you Junmyeon or Suho?” she asked hesitantly.

“Commander Junmyeon will do,” Junmyeon said coolly.

“And yes, Minseok, your first mission is a solo. It’s orders from the Emperor himself again.”

“Orders from the Emperor?” Junmyeon echoed, baffled. “Why would he care about what I do?”

“Exo only receives their orders from the top chain of command.” Taeyeon didn’t take her eyes off the road. “That’s how it always has been.”

“No,” Jongin spoke up. “No, it hasn’t. We always had our orders from you. I’m pretty sure the Emperor didn’t give a rat’s ass about us before.”

“Times are changing.” Taeyeon’s tone turned steely. “And before, I received my orders from higher up and I followed them. As will you.”

The six of them settled down at that. It was true—they were soldiers, and they were supposed to follow their orders.

“You never told us why the army wanted to reinstate us,” Junmyeon said eventually. “We thought we were done with the army for good.”

“I will explain that to you when you return from your mission.”

“I thought you would explain it after our evaluations were done.” Jongin started fidgeting in his seat. “Is this another test? Hasn’t Junmyeon proven himself already?”

“Jongin,” Junmyeon said warningly.

“It wouldn’t have been my first choice to send Junmyeon on a solo mission,” Taeyeon said calmly. “But I guess the higher-ups feel otherwise.”

Junmyeon blinked. There was some truth to Jongin’s complaint—Junmyeon had already passed one of the military's tests. He'd long suspected that the encounter he’d had with the “Red Forces” right before he’d reunited with Baekhyun was actually a test from the military. They’d been far too soft on him—the Red Forces would probably want to eliminate him completely if he posed a threat to their victory in the war. They had probably just been members of the military dressed in red cloaks. They’d just wanted to see what he’d learned from Master Kim, and had no real intention of killing him.

“It’s fine, everyone.” He sat back in his seat. “I’ll go, I’ll come back. If this is a test, it’s not a big deal.”

Taeyeon snorted in the front, but Junmyeon ignored her. What was most important was to keep his team calm, and he could only hope that his reassurances would actually work.

 

 

A few hours later, Junmyeon found himself on the edge of camp with a pack of gear on his back and his brothers watching him anxiously.

“I’ll be fine,” Junmyeon said soothingly. “It’s just a retrieval mission. There won’t be any problems. I’m as good as sensing people around me as Kyungsoo is now.”

The five of them didn’t look very reassured as Junmyeon turned around and took off into the tall grass around them.

Taeyeon really was quite a piece of work, Junmyeon mused. This mission would be over and done with in an hour if he’d been allowed to take Jongin and Kyungsoo with him, but Taeyeon had insisted that he go alone. Jongin would’ve gotten them to the location in two seconds and Kyungsoo would have been able to detect the camera within a few minutes at most. Junmyeon was going to have to dig through the dirt to try and find the damn thing.

Taeyeon had also tried to reissue him new gear, but Junmyeon had flat-out refused. He was taking his rune-inscribed things and nothing else. He didn’t know who, or what, to trust anymore, and he didn’t plan on trusting anyone until things became clearer.

Junmyeon traveled under cover of night, and he arrived at the site of the ambush just as dawn was creeping into the sky. Junmyeon quietly slunk through the trees in the glade, testing out the area. He didn’t feel any other human presences yet, but he stuck to the shadows. He could never be sure how long an enemy would linger around the area.

The sky grew brighter and brighter, and Junmyeon slumped down in the shade of a tree. He’d been cleared to return to the army, but he wasn’t in top form. He should’ve rested at some point during the night—weariness was starting to close over his limbs.

Junmyeon looked around. He was well-shielded by brambles and the tree trunks. He pulled four small stones out of his bags inscribed with runes for alertness and protection and put them around himself. He curled up and closed his eyes. A few minutes of rest wouldn’t hurt.

Junmyeon woke up with a start. He sat bolt upright, his hand on his long knife, his eyes darting around. He’d heard something move.

The sun hadn’t moved along much higher into the sky, so he hadn’t been sleeping long. Junmyeon slowly sat up.

There was a rustling to the right, and Junmyeon quietly pulled his knife out of its sheath and held it up by his shoulder. The runes would protect him from anyone wanting to harm him.

There was more rustling, and Junmyeon’s breath caught in his chest when a tall, red-cloaked figure came into view.

They stared at each other for a moment before Junmyeon sprang to his feet and hurled his knife. The red figure ducked out of the way and pushed their hood back.

Junmyeon’s heart skipped a beat.

“Yifan?” he asked softly.

“Junmyeon,” Yifan breathed. He took a step forward, and Junmyeon raised his hand.

“Don’t come any closer,” he commanded.

Yifan didn’t stop.

“Stop!” Junmyeon cried out, but Yifan stretched out his arm past the first stone.

Yifan cried out and snatched his hand back. A red burn had formed on his fingertips. He rubbed his hand, and looked at Junmyeon with a hurt expression. “What was that?”

“Wards,” Junmyeon said evenly. “I told you to stop.”

Yifan sighed and let his arms drop to his sides. “I won’t hurt you,” Yifan said gently. “Junmyeon…it’s been two and a half years now.”

“I don't believe it.” Junmyeon clenched his fists. “What were you going to do?”

“I wanted to hug you,” Yifan said patiently. “Junmyeon…Junmyeon, I’ve missed you so much. You told me not to come after you, and I listened to you.”

Junmyeon licked his lips nervously. “I know,” he said softly. “I thought…I thought you might not care for me anymore.”

“I could never stop loving you,” Yifan said earnestly. He lifted his arms as if he were going to reach out, but then stopped when he remembered the wards.

Junmyeon blinked. “Even after all this time?”

“Always,” Yifan said firmly. “Didn’t I tell you? I can’t seem to stop myself when it comes to you.”

Junmyeon looked at him. Could he really still trust Yifan? Yifan had been under the Red Forces influence this whole time. How could he know that Yifan wasn’t lying?

“Did you know I would be here?” Junmyeon asked slowly.

“No.” Yifan shook his head. “I had no idea you were here.”

“What are you doing around here?” Junmyeon folded his arms.

“I was passing through the area.”

Junmyeon felt suspicion start to coil in his stomach. “Are you here on a mission?”

Yifan looked surprised, and then slightly guilty.

“To retrieve something?” Junmyeon continued. “Possibly related to a previous attack?"

“I am on a mission,” Yifan said slowly. “But not to retrieve something. And definitely not related to an attack of any kind.”

“Hm.” Junmyeon gave him a long look. “Okay.”

“Are you here on a mission?” Yifan asked.

Junmyeon hesitated. They were on opposite sides of the war now—was it really okay to divulge that information?

But, Yifan had been open with him. It would only be fair to respond in kind. “Yes,” Junmyeon said softly.

“You’ve finished your training then?” Yifan raised an eyebrow. “That was…quick.”

“People seem to be feeling a sense of urgency these days,” Junmyeon said vaguely. “Or maybe, I’m a fast learner.” He flashed a cheeky smile at Yifan, and suddenly, all of the tension between them was gone.

“I’ve missed you,” Yifan said sincerely.

Junmyeon softened. “I’ve missed you too,” he said quietly.

“Come out of your wards,” Yifan begged him. “Please.”

Junmyeon shook his head. “How can I trust you?” he challenged him. “And furthermore, how can you trust me?”

Yifan sighed. “What would you have me do?” he asked. “How can I prove that I still love you?”

Junmyeon couldn’t help blushing. “I don’t know,” he said softly. “But…it’s too soon. Maybe I can trust you with time.”

Yifan sighed and nodded his head in resignation. “This isn’t really how I thought our reunion would go,” he said quietly. “I understand though.”

They stood in awkward silence for a few moments.

“I should get back to my mission,” Yifan said quietly. “I’ll see you again.”

“Yes.” Junmyeon smiled softly. “I’ll see you again.”

Yifan’s eyes lit up, and he smiled slightly. He drew his hood back over his head and flew past Junmyeon. Junmyeon turned around and watched him vanish through the thicket.

Junmyeon didn’t feel anyone else’s presence in the area, and he waited until Yifan was far enough away that he couldn’t sense him. Yifan had headed east—away from the military base.

Junmyeon wondered if he should report his encounter with Yifan. The military soldier in his brain was telling him that yes, he should report any incidents with the enemy—but the part of him that still loved Yifan told him that he should stay quiet.

Junmyeon shook his head and picked up his ward stones. He put them in his pocket and slunk out towards the clearing where the ambush had taken place. He looked around and resisted the urge to groan—the area was fairly large. It would take a while to thoroughly check it all.

Junmyeon crouched down in the dirt and began looking.

 

Finally, around sunset, Junmyeon found the camera. It seemed relatively undamaged, and Junmyeon put it in his bag. He scanned the area, and it seemed safe to start traveling back for the camp.

When he arrived, he was surprised to see that Minseok, Kyungsoo, Yixing, Baekhyun and Jongin were all anxiously pacing at the edge of the campsite.

“Have you been waiting for me all day?” Junmyeon called out teasingly.

The five of them flinched, and then looked relieved.

“We were worried,” Minseok admitted, coming forward to pull Junmyeon into a hug. “Anything could’ve happened.”

“The place was pretty abandoned. It just took a while to find the camera in the dirt,” Junmyeon said gently. “Let me go report to General Taeyeon, and we can eat together after.”

Minseok nodded, and the five of them drifted back off towards their tent while Junmyeon headed off for Taeyeon.

Taeyeon received the camera with a pleased smile. “Well done, Junmyeon. Well done.” She handed the camera to one of her lieutenants who left the tent. “You didn’t have any problems during the retrieval?”

“None,” Junmyeon answered, his palms suddenly becoming sweaty. “Nothing happened.”

“The area was abandoned?”

“Yes,” Junmyeon said quietly.

Taeyeon nodded. “Very good,” she said again. “Very good.”

“Will you finally explain why you’ve brought us back together?” Junmyeon asked her.

“Yes.” Taeyeon sat back in her seat. “Sit down, Commander Junmyeon.” She gave the other attending soldiers a look and they filed out, leaving them alone.

Junmyeon sat down and folded his hands.

“You’ve been gone for a while now,” Taeyeon said at last. “We wanted to be sure that you were fit to return. You really outdid yourself on these tasks. You’re an excellent soldier, Junmyeon, even outside of the military.”

“The attack in Green Meadows. Was that you?” Junmyeon asked.

“Not me specifically, but some special-ops from the capitol,” Taeyeon replied. “They wanted to see what you’d learned from Master Kim. You passed the test with flying colors.”

Junmyeon snorted.

“We’d guessed that you would want to reunite with your old classmates. We allowed it to happen, even though that would draw all kinds of attention to you six—the attention that the Emperor feared would make you targets. But something has happened.”

“What?” Junmyeon sat forward in his seat. “What is it?”

“The Red Forces have developed a specialized team, consisting of six members,” Taeyeon said softly. “These six do all kinds of specialized missions for them. Their identities are unconfirmed, but…we have our guesses.”

Junmyeon sat back in his seat. “No,” he whispered. “This…this is what you wanted us for?”

“Their team is too good,” Taeyeon said gently. “You six are the only magic users we could hope to counter them with.”

Junmyeon sighed deeply. “I cannot disobey orders,” he said at last. “But…”

“I know it will be difficult.” Taeyeon’s eyes were warm and pitying. “You will have access to our best therapists, and our best resources for all of your missions.”

Junmyeon closed his eyes and counted to ten silently. He wanted to scream, he wanted to lash out, he wanted to tear all of the water out of the plants around them and flood the entire camp.

Junmyeon opened his eyes. “The others won’t like it,” he said at last.

“If you accept it, then they will follow you.” Taeyeon began shuffling her papers around her desk. “Your missions against those six will be rare and infrequent. But they will happen.”

“I see.” Junmyeon got to his feet. “Thank you for warning me.”

Taeyeon nodded. “Dismissed, Commander Junmyeon.”

Junmyeon left her tent, and went back to his own. His five teammates were gathered around a small fire in front of it, cooking.

Junmyeon didn’t feel like eating.

“Did everything go okay?” Kyungsoo looked at him expectantly.

Junmyeon settled down between Jongin and Minseok. “Yeah,” he said quietly.

“Is something wrong?” Minseok asked.

Junmyeon hesitated. Should he tell them about Yifan? He could tell his brothers about anything, right? But again, his heart whispered that he should stay quiet. Besides, there was the larger issue at hand.

“Taeyeon told me why we were called back,” Junmyeon said at last.

The others stilled around him.

“What was it?” Baekhyun asked quietly.

Junmyeon looked around, and saw that the six of them were quite alone around the fire. There was no one nearby, and their tent was a little ways away from the rest. “She said that the Red Forces have their own six-man team,” Junmyeon said heavily. “And we’re the only team good enough to stop them.”

Jongin dropped the bowl of soup he’d been filling for Junmyeon into the fire. The smell of burning food filled the air and they all watched as the metal bowl turned red, and then started to melt into the fire.

“Sorry,” Jongin said at last.

“It’s okay,” Junmyeon said quietly, still staring at the fire. Even though he was surrounded by people, somehow, the night seemed very lonely.

“Will we…” Kyungsoo hesitated. “Will we have to face them often?”

“She said that these kinds of missions will be scarce, but they’ll happen.” Junmyeon’s eyes were starting burn, and he looked away from the fire. “Do we have any spare bowls?”

Jongin slowly got to his feet and walked towards the tent. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

Junmyeon nodded and stayed quiet, avoiding everyone else’s gaze. They hadn’t talked much about the loss of their friends to the Red Forces. There had been the parting words of forgiveness, but Junmyeon hadn’t really taken them to heart, and he didn’t know if the others had truly meant them at the time. Did they still blame him for this? Would they blame him for this conflict? After all, if he could have pulled them together and saved Jongdae and Tao back then, or if he could have stopped Chanyeol and Yifan from ever leaving, they wouldn't be faced with this situation.

Could all six of them really be trusted to keep a level head when they faced their old friends on the battlefield?

“Junmyeon,” Minseok said quietly. Junmyeon turned his head to look at him.

“We’re going to be fine,” Minseok said gently. “We can do this. I know we can.”

Suddenly, Junmyeon’s eyes began welling up with tears. His shoulders shook with silent sobs, and he let Minseok pull him into a hug. He cried into Minseok’s shirt, feeling his snot and tears stain the uniform as he tried to get a hold of himself.

Minseok rubbed a hand up and down his back soothingly, and Junmyeon felt Kyungsoo come over and put a hand on his shoulder. There was a rustling as Jongin came back from the tent, and then Junmyeon saw Yixing get up out of the corner of his seat. Junmyeon wiped at his eyes furiously and drew back from Minseok as Yixing came over and put a hand on his forehead.

“Thanks guys,” he mumbled, finally looking up at the others. He was heartened by what he saw—none of the others had burst into tears like he had. He saw sadness and fear in their faces, but he also saw determination and hope.

Jongin silently filled a new bowl with soup and handed it to him. Junmyeon took the bowl, and felt a little of his appetite returning and lifted the bowl to his lips.

He resisted the urge to spit the soup out and bravely swallowed it, setting his bowl down. He stared at the soup pot, and then around the circle. “Who cooked tonight?” he asked at last.

Baekhyun sheepishly raised his hand. Junmyeon shook his head, but picked up the bowl again. If the others had eaten it, then he should eat it too. He drained the bowl down to the last drop.

He didn’t know what to say. He knew he should try and bring them together, try and console them on the scars of their past, but he didn’t know how he could do it. He was barely coping as it was. It didn’t feel right to try and pull them together.

“I’m going to bed first.” He got to his feet. “Call me if anything happens.”

The others nodded, and Junmyeon’s eyes settled onto Minseok who looked slightly apprehensive. “What?”

“What?” Minseok echoed back to him, his expression sharpening.

Junmyeon gave him a look and then turned away. “Good night.”

Junmyeon lay quietly on his bunk, his mind whirling with thoughts of the friends he’d lost to the Red Forces.

He thought about his encounter with Yifan, and couldn’t help the small smile that formed on his face. Yifan had grown handsomer over the past couple of years. Junmyeon he shouldn’t trust him so willingly, but he couldn’t help it. He’d loved Yifan for so long, even after he’d been betrayed in the past, he still loved him now.

Somehow, he managed to fall asleep before the others returned to the tent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...we found out the real reason Exo got called back into service! They'll have to face their old friends on the battlefield eventually. On the bright side, Junmyeon and Yifan got a reunion! It probably didn't go as well as anyone hoped (your author nim included ;~;) but they'll have more chances in the future to salvage their relationship. Thanks for reading, and comments are always appreciated!


	6. Part 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I didn't realize that I haven't updated this story since September o.0 I really apologize for that! I had a rough time with school last semester, and I didn't have much time to write T__T I hope this chapter is worth the wait. Enjoy! (Note: unedited)

 

_Part Six_

The following days were filled with a sense of dread. Junmyeon woke up every day, wondering if and when they would be sent on a mission against the Red Forces. His dreams were plagued with terrible, violent scenes of battle, and more than once he’d woken up in a cold sweat, staring wildly around the tent half-expecting to find his hand still on a knife plunged into Yifan’s heart.

Junmyeon forced himself to calm down, his breathing evening out as he looked around the dark tent.

“Junmyeon?” Minseok asked sleepily. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah I’m fine.” Junmyeon tried to smile even though it was dark. “Did I wake you up?”

“Yeah, you were muttering and tossing around,” Minseok said after a moment. “You sure you’re okay?”

Junmyeon hesitated. It sounded like Baekhyun and Yixing were both asleep—they’d drawn lots the night before, and the four of them were crowded in this tent while Jongin and Kyungsoo had gotten the smaller tent with a slightly higher human to space ratio.

“Bad dreams,” Junmyeon said at last.

“You wanna talk about it?” Minseok whispered, his voice slightly clearer as he became more alert.

Junmyeon sighed. “I guess,” he whispered. Baekhyun and Yixing’s breathing was still even. “I just don’t understand why I’m so tense. I accepted that we’d have to fight the others years ago, when Yifan and Chanyeol first left. But these days, I’m just…so on edge.”

“It’s different now.” Minseok rolled over. “In the past, I thought maybe we could save them, but after the last time, I knew that they were all lost. Maybe you just haven’t accepted that yet.”

“Maybe.” Junmyeon frowned. “I don’t…I don’t think I can still save Yifan.”

“But Jongdae?” Minseok asked gently. “Tao? They were both ripped away from us. Kidnapped, unlike Luhan, Chanyeol, Yifan and Sehun. Those four made a choice.”

“Yes,” Junmyeon said softly after a moment, sadness weighing down on his heart. “Maybe that’s it.”

“Have you been going to therapy?” Minseok asked after a moment.

“Yeah,” Junmyeon said quietly. “I just…I don’t know. This was insightful. Maybe it’ll help.” Junmyeon also knew that he was feeling tense because he still hadn’t told anyone about Yifan. But who could he tell? His therapist was supposed to be sworn to secrecy, but Junmyeon knew that this information was related to the war, and his therapist might feel the need to report the incident.

Junmyeon hesitated, and then slipped out of his bedroll. He quietly padded over to Minseok, and Minseok rolled over to make room for him.

Junmyeon climbed underneath the warm blanket and curled up against Minseok, who put an arm around him and squeezed gently.

Junmyeon closed his eyes, and this time, his dreams were kind.

 

 

 

 

They woke up the next day to the sounds of the other soldiers milling around the camp. Junmyeon squinted, and saw faint sunlight starting to light up the day.

Yixing and Baekhyun were already up. Junmyeon could sense Yixing standing outside the tent. He could see Baekhyun pulling on his fatigues by his bedroll.

Junmyeon nudged Minseok’s chin affectionately, and then quietly wormed his way out of the sleeping roll. Baekhyun didn’t say anything as he passed him, but gave him an affectionate pat on the butt. Junmyeon narrowed his eyes at him, but Baekhyun just gave him a playful grin and rushed out of the tent.

Junmyeon shook his head and smiled. He finished dressing and left Minseok sleeping in the tent. He felt a little better after physically relying on Minseok to guard him from his nightmares. He gazed out at the rolling fields below the campsite, and put his arms over his head and stretched. He hadn’t thought much about what the six of them should do today—they’d been training hard for the past few days to be ready for battle. They had easily fallen back into their old rhythm though, and Junmyeon thought they were handling their formations well. Maybe now it would be good to sit down for a few meetings with Minseok to start thinking about some new group formations. Maybe some partner training would be good too…

Junmyeon squeaked and whirled around when he felt a hand land firmly on his butt. He glared at Baekhyun and grabbed him by the ear, twisting until Baekhyun was yelping and wiggling away.

“I told you to stop doing that,” Junmyeon sighed, and let go.

Baekhyun rubbed his ear and grinned at Junmyeon unrepentantly.

“Pest.” Junmyeon shook his head at Baekhyun. “What do you want?”

“I figured we could light our fire together,” Baekhyun said innocently. “And I wanted to talk about how we can change some new techniques for battles. I’ve been working on making heat and light together you know.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Junmyeon crouched down and began picking up dry twigs from in front of the tent. “I was actually just thinking about that. We’ve been doing a lot of group stuff for the past week. Maybe it would be good if we took turns working in pairs for a few days.”

Baekhyun nodded and silently followed Junmyeon back to their small fire pit. Junmyeon piled the twigs up, and Baekhyun pit his palms over the dry wood. He closed his eyes, concentrated, and Junmyeon looked away as a bright flare burst from his palms, and the dry twigs lit on fire.

“Sometimes I think this would have been easier to figure out if Chanyeol was here,” Baekhyun said suddenly.

Junmyeon flinched, and then looked at Baekhyun closely. “Do you…miss him?” Junmyeon asked hesitantly.

“I miss all of them,” Baekhyun said honestly, his eyes not meeting Junmyeon’s as he watched the fire. “Even Yifan.”

“Yifan was hard on you,” Junmyeon said softly, unsure of where to lead the conversation. Baekhyun seemed to be feeling mostly nostalgic—not guilty or sad. “You were just too playful for him.”

“He always looked so serious,” Baekhyun agreed. “I think that was ruined once I found his sketchpad though.”

Junmyeon snorted at the memory. Yifan and Baekhyun had been sharing a room for a couple of months, and one day, Yifan had left his sketchpad out while he’d gone out to train. Baekhyun had found it, and then shown it to the entire dormitory the sketchpad full of crude stick figures and squiggles. As far as they knew, Yifan didn’t know that they’d all seen it because Baekhyun had carefully put it back in its exact position, but the rest of their dorm had definitely relaxed around Yifan after that.

“What do you think happened to all of them?” Baekhyun said suddenly.

“What do you mean?” Junmyeon stretched his hands towards the fire.

“Well, that was way back in third year when we were in a dorm with Hyun-Woo, Sungjae and Hyunsik? But then they got cut and Jongin and Kyungsoo came in to replace them.”

“That’s right.” Junmyeon thought back to his classmates. “Honestly…this sounds bad, but I didn’t really care that they were gone. I was mostly jealous that Jongin and Kyungsoo had single rooms.”

Baekhyun snorted. “Geez, you were cold-hearted.”

“They never wanted to hang out with me,” Junmyeon shrugged. “I think I was too studious for them.”

“Well, you were never too studious for me.” Baekhyun came over and snuggled into his side, and Junmyeon patted his shoulder.

Junmyeon wanted to savor the moment, but the noises from the other tents and the rest of the soldiers milling around the camp distracted him.

Junmyeon sighed deeply. “I’ve been feeling too cooped up. I just want to go into the forest and be by myself in utter, absolute silence for an hour.”

Baekhyun sat up and looked at him curiously. “Taeyeon would never let you go alone.”

Junmyeon sighed again, and knew that Baekhyun was right. “We could make the trip together,” Junmyeon offered. “Head out into the forest for a bit and catch some peace and quiet. Stretch our legs. What do you say?”

Baekhyun eyed him warily. “Promise me you won’t ditch me?” he finally asked.

Junmyeon blinked. Where was this coming from? “Promise,” Junmyeon said firmly.

“Alright,” Baekhyun said after a pause. “Getting out of this camp would be nice.”

“I’ll ask Taeyeon after everyone else gets up and we make a schedule for today.” Junmyeon leaned over and nuzzled Baekhyun’s shoulder.

The others woke up and eventually gathered around the fire. Junmyeon’s suggestion for partner trainers was received warmly, and he went to ask Taeyeon for permission to leave the camp.

Normal soldiers were allowed to enter and exit the camp as they pleased. Exo had to receive special permission though—Junmyeon could understand why they might not be trusted after everything that had happened in the past.

“You and Baekhyun? Alone?” Taeyeon echoed.

“I think some meditation would be good for us,” Junmyeon said evenly.

 

“Hm.” Taeyeon tapped her pen thoughtfully against her leg. “If you aren’t back within two hours, I’ll send someone out there to find you.”

“Understood.” Junmyeon saluted her. “Thanks.”

“I also noticed that the six of you have been doing quite a lot of training lately.” Taeyeon leaned back in her seat. “It might boost morale if you were to do some kind of…display for everyone.”

“Display?” Junmyeon echoed, unsure of where this was going. “All of our practices are on the edge of camp. People come to watch us all the time.”

“Maybe we could have some sparring battles,” Taeyeon suggested. “Most of the soldiers here have only been on transport or reconnaissance missions lately. It might put a bit of fire into them.”

Junmyeon hesitated. “We would easily overpower any non-elemental soldiers,” he said at last. “I don’t think having sparring matches with them would be fair.”

Taeyeon waved her hand. “No, not like that. We could have a day of field exercises with sparring matches between evenly matched soldiers. That’s why I said ‘display’ earlier—we could have the six of you split up and square off against each other at the end. It would remind everyone of what this army is capable of.”

Junmyeon smiled. “You’ve been thinking about this for a while, haven’t you? Why bother asking for my opinion if you’ve had it all planned out?”

“Do you think Exo is ready?” Taeyeon asked, ignoring his question.

“We could easily manage something like that.” Junmyeon shifted on his feet. “I’ve actually just started a new regimen with partner drills, so this would be something good to prepare for. When were you thinking of doing it?”

Taeyeon pursed her lips. “In a week or so?” she said at last. “Will you be ready by then?”

“We’ll put on a good show,” Junmyeon reassured her.

“Very good.” Taeyeon smiled and waved a hand. “Dismissed.”

Junmyeon saluted her and ducked out of the tent, heading back to his own. Training and training with no obvious battle in sight had put him into a bit of a slump. Having a tangible goal to work towards had made him feel better, rather than only focusing on the pervasive dread he’d been feeling lately.

Junmyeon went back to his team and told them about Taeyeon’s plan.

“Oh that sounds fun,” Kyungsoo said at last. “It would be nice to have a goal to work towards.”

“I was just thinking the same thing.” Junmyeon smiled at them. “So I guess we’ll make sure to leave room for partner training every day.”

The others nodded their heads and paired off—today, Junmyeon had put Jongin with Minseok and Yixing with Kyungsoo. Yixing and Kyungsoo had had trouble working together in the past, but Junmyeon was hoping that their time together in the city had helped with their teamwork.

“Taeyeon gave us permission to head out for two hours,” Junmyeon told Baekhyun. “Let’s go!”

They jogged past the guards at the edge of camp, and soon, they were in the welcoming shade of the forest.

Junmyeon sighed happily as quiet and calm pervaded his senses. He’d needed this more than he thought.

“Junmyeon?”

“Yes?” Junmyeon turned to look at Baekhyun, and blinked. Baekhyun was staring over Junmyeon’s shoulder, his eyes narrowed slightly.

“I think…” Baekhyun hesitated, and then stopped.

“You think?” Junmyeon echoed, turning to face the same direction as Baekhyun.

“It’s probably nothing.” Baekhyun shook his head and turned away. “Do you want to keep going?”

“Yeah, actually.” Junmyeon stared up at the trees around them. “I want to keep going up, if that’s alright.”

“Sure.”

They walked along in silence. Junmyeon constantly checked their surroundings—his memory was a little hazy, but if he was right…

“Ah.” They reached the top of the hill where the trees thinned out slightly, and Junmyeon saw the crevasse that Yifan had saved him from falling into. The damages of their battle had been long erased as the forest grew back into itself.

“You’ve been here before?” Baekhyun asked.

“Yeah. The night I left with Master Kim.” Junmyeon stopped walking and settled down onto the forest floor.

“We’re pretty far up,” Baekhyun said quietly.

Junmyeon paused and frowned. “You’ve been acting so uneasy,” Junmyeon said. “Is something wrong?”

Baekhyun swallowed, and Junmyeon straightened up. “What is it?” he asked. Junmyeon looked closer, and saw that Baekhyun was pale and trembling. “Baekhyun?” Junmyeon stepped closer. “Baekhyun, are you feeling alright?”

Baekhyun opened his mouth to answer, but swayed and closed his eyes. Junmyeon lunged forward and caught him before he hit the ground, gently lowering him to the forest floor.

Junmyeon frowned and felt Baekhyun’s forehead. His temperature seemed fine, and his skin was dry. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

Junmyeon gently rolled Baekhyun onto his side. He pulled his water flask from his pack, and unscrewed the cap. Perhaps Baekhyun was just dehydrated?

Junmyeon froze when he heard a twig snap off to his left. Junmyeon slowly lowered his water flask and pulled out a pocket of stones inscribed with runes. He put them on either side of Baekhyun’s body and rose to his feet, hand on the knife in his belt.

There was a rustling in the bushes, and a small brown bunny darted across the forest floor, vanishing into the trees behind them. Junmyeon relaxed slightly, but kept his hand on his knife.  

There was a noise behind him, and Junmyeon whirled around.

Junmyeon’s heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, he couldn’t breathe.

“Junmyeon?”

“Yifan,” Junmyeon whispered, and then hesitated, glancing at Baekhyun. Baekhyun still seemed unconscious. “Did you do this?”

“Maybe.” Yifan stood only a few feet away, his red cloak fluttering in the breeze. He his hands were up in the air by his ears, showing that he had no weapons.

“Are you insane?” Junmyeon asked, his mouth suddenly bone dry. “What if he wakes up?”

“He won’t wake up for another ten minutes.” Yifan slowly lowered his hands.

“This is a huge risk,” Junmyeon whispered, his heart thundering in his chest. Every second he hesitated in attacking Yifan, he felt something pull and break inside of him.

“We can leave him if you’re afraid.” Yifan studied him quietly, and somehow, Junmyeon knew that he wouldn’t be able to attack Yifan. Not just yet.

“I can’t leave him alone here.”

“You’ve already put your rune stones around him. Won’t he be safe?”

“Not from passing animals,” Junmyeon shook his head. “I don’t want to leave him alone.”

Yifan thought for a moment. “We can move away then. So we can see him, but he won’t be able to hear or see us if he wakes.”

Junmyeon hesitated, and then nodded. Junmyeon backed away from Yifan, keeping him in his sight until they were a little ways away, hidden by the trees.

“What did you do to him?” Junmyeon asked hesitantly. His palms were sweating, but Junmyeon kept one hand on his knife as he tried his best to seem cool and collected.

“He has a very, very low dose of sedative in his system.”

“Will he be alright when he wakes up?”

“He might have a slight headache, but otherwise it should be fine.”

Junmyeon frowned. “How, exactly, did you sedate him without either of us noticing?”

“I can’t give away all of my secrets.” Yifan gave him a sly wink, and Junmyeon rolled his eyes. He softened a moment later though, giving Yifan a hesitant smile before turning his gaze back on Baekhyun.

Yifan stepped forward, until he was only a few inches away from Junmyeon. “You haven’t attacked me yet.”

Junmyeon looked away from Baekhyun, and up at Yifan. His heart ached when he saw the dark shadows under Yifan’s eyes, and a small, new scar near the bottom of his chin.

Yifan took a step closer, and Junmyeon acted instinctively, whipping his knife out of his belt. Yifan’s hand closed over his wrist, and they stood locked in a standstill, Junmyeon’s wrist shaking slightly.

“Perhaps I spoke too soon.” Yifan smiled at him, and Junmyeon suddenly couldn’t stand it any longer. Tears filled his eyes, and Junmyeon started shaking even harder as the tears streamed down his face. The knife fell from his shaking fingers, and Junmyeon didn’t stop Yifan from gently lowering his arm and pulling him forward.

Junmyeon sobbed into Yifan’s chest and wrapped his arms tightly around him. Yifan kicked the knife off to the side and put one hand on the small of his back, and the other hand on the back of his head, holding him close. The hand on his back gently stroked up and down, and Junmyeon felt himself slowly start to calm down.

Yifan waited for him to stop shaking before drawing back slightly.

Junmyeon lifted his hand and rubbed at his nose, grimacing. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“It’s okay,” Yifan said gently.

Junmyeon smiled weakly at him, and Yifan brought his hand from behind Junmyeon’s shoulders up to cradle his face.

“I won’t ask you what’s wrong,” Yifan said at last. “I know you must be carrying a lot on your shoulders.”

Junmyeon looked away from Yifan’s piercing gaze, and nodded silently.

“I’m just glad I can hold you in my arms again,” Yifan whispered softly.

Junmyeon’s eyes snapped up, and his face turned bright red.

Yifan laughed softly and drew him close again.

“It’s so odd to hear you say things like that,” Junmyeon whispered, burying his face in Yifan’s chest. “I don’t…I don’t know how to respond.”

“It’s okay,” Yifan said gruffly, and Junmyeon smiled a little when he realized that Yifan was embarrassed.

“You were so wary of me, the last time we met.” Yifan rubbed soothing circles into his back. “What changed?”

Junmyeon swallowed harshly. “I…” he hesitated.

Yifan waited patiently, just holding him. Junmyeon felt a wave of gratefulness and exhaustion washing over him. This was what he’d ached for, in their time apart—Yifan had always understood him, back at the Academy. Even when they were at odds with each other, Yifan always knew when Junmyeon was at his limit. Yifan always knew when to stop and pull back, and just wrap Junmyeon up in a hug.

Well, at least he used to know. Junmyeon shivered softly when he thought about their last few months at the Academy.

“I missed you,” Junmyeon said quietly. “I always missed you, but…seeing you last time made it ten times worse. I wanted to be careful, but I just…can’t.”

Yifan’s arms tightened around him, and Junmyeon closed his eyes.

Junmyeon extended his magic towards Baekhyun. He could still hear Baekhyun’s even breathing. His heartrate was even too, but Junmyeon couldn’t be sure how long it would be until Baekhyun woke up.

Junmyeon took a deep breath and stepped away from Yifan, letting Yifan’s arms fall away from him.

“Yifan.”

“Yes?” Yifan’s dark, cold eyes studied him curiously.

“You know we’ll have to fight each other.” Junmyeon gazed sadly up at him. “It’s going to happen sooner or later.”

“Yes,” Yifan agreed, his eyes echoing the same sadness Junmyeon felt.

“You have to promise me you won’t hold back.” Junmyeon licked his lips nervously. “If anyone were to suspect anything…”

“It wouldn’t end well for either of us,” Yifan finished his thought.  “Don’t worry. I won’t hold back.”

“Okay.” Junmyeon glanced back at the clearing. Baekhyun was still curled up on his side, facing away from them.

“He’ll be waking up soon.” Yifan glanced regretfully at Baekhyun. “I know I shouldn’t have done anything. I should’ve let you two pass, but…I wanted to see you so badly.”

“I know,” Junmyeon said softly. He wouldn’t say that it was alright—but that was the circumstances of their reality. In order to meet, they were going to have to hurt their loved ones.

“It’s dangerous for you to be so close to the camp,” Junmyeon said quietly. “You’ll be careful, won’t you?”

“I will,” Yifan said quietly. “I’m surprised actually. Baekhyun sensed me long before you did.”

“Really?” Junmyeon thought about Baekhyun’s hesitance, right when they’d entered the forest. He should’ve used his magic to test the area for other human bodies, but somehow…Junmyeon had secretly, stupidly hoped that it might be Yifan with them in the forest. That they might reunite where Yifan had confessed to him. So much could’ve gone wrong—what if it hadn’t been Yifan following them?

Junmyeon looked at Yifan, and felt frightened at the wave of fondness that peaked and crashed in his heart.

“Junmyeon.” Yifan reached out and gently cupped Junmyeon’s face with his hand. “I…”

There was a sound in the clearing as Baekhyun groaned and twitched. Yifan’s eyes widened, and then he was shooting off in to the air, leaving Junmyeon standing alone. Junmyeon recovered from his shock a moment later, and ran to Baekhyun’s side.

“Baekhyun!” Junmyeon knelt down. “Are you alright?”

Baekhyun winced and slowly sat up. “What happened?”

Junmyeon grabbed his water flask and carefully brought it to Baekhyun’s lips. “You fainted out of nowhere. I think you might be dehydrated,” he said quietly as Baekhyun eagerly gulped down the water. “You should’ve said something if you weren’t feeling well.”

Baekhyun wiped his mouth and sighed. “Yeah, I thought I was fine…but I started feeling weird on the way up.”

Junmyeon tried to hide his guilt as he recapped his flask. “Well, dehydration can take a while to really hit you. Do you feel well enough to stand?”

Baekhyun slowly got to his feet. “Yeah.”

“We should go back.” Junmyeon wrapped his arms around Baekhyun’s shoulders as his mind raced. He tried to think of ways that Yifan had given his poison to Baekhyun, but all of his ideas felt preposterous. Had Yifan somehow spread it on the plants they passed so that when Baekhyun brushed against them, his skin absorbed it? But how would he have managed to achieve such a thing with such accuracy? Had he managed to pierce Baekhyun’s skin without either of them noticing?

Junmyeon bit his lip as he and Baekhyun started back towards the camp. Yifan had clearly been learning and improving on his skills. When the twelve of them met in battle again, it was going to be a long, terrible fight.

 

 

 

 

The next few days, Exo continued to train hard. Taeyeon had made her announcement about the field exercises to the entire camp, and the mini tournament would take place starting tomorrow, with Exo’s ‘display’ on the second day.

Today, Junmyeon had given them all the day off from group practice. It wouldn’t do to tire themselves out too much before the match.

Junmyeon had been thinking about Yifan for the past few days. Of course, he’d been having the sweet romantic thoughts of how it had felt to be in Yifan’s arms again, and the tenderness and passion that Yifan had held him with. But at the same time, Junmyeon had to wonder if Yifan was actually in the area alone.

The military camp would not be a secret to the Red Forces at this point, due to how long it had been there and the constant traffic it had going in and out. They also knew that there was a good-sized military camp from the Land of Pines not too far away. They were fully aware of each other, but made no move to attack.

What if Yifan hadn’t been alone? Junmyeon figured that Yifan was probably keeping their relationship a secret from his team, but Junmyeon had the feeling that something wasn’t right. He was so happy to have seen Yifan again, and to have talked to him for those few minutes—but if Yifan was in the area, that didn’t bode well.

Junmyeon had warned his team not to go all out against each other in the sparring match. He’d made the excuse that something might happen at any time, and they should be prepared—and he could only hope that nothing bad would happen.

“You look moody.”

Junmyeon flinched and got to his feet to salute Taeyeon properly. “General.”

“Is everything alright?” She gave him a shrewd look.

“Everything is fine,” Junmyeon said evenly. “I appreciate your concern.”

“Hm.” Taeyeon gave him a long look. “How’re you preparations for the field exercises going?”

“They’re going well. We should be able to give you a good show.”

“Hm.” Taeyeon folded her arms. “If that’s the case, then why are you moody?”

“I said I was fine,” Junmyeon snapped back at her.

“Alright, alright.” Taeyeon raised her hands in defeat. “The preliminary rounds of the exercises will start tomorrow. Will you have time to judge a few matches?”

Junmyeon nodded. They had practiced plenty—they were really more than ready for their match.

“You can see how hard everyone is practicing.” Taeyeon turned away from Junmyeon to watch the soldiers training in the practice fields. “It’s good to have this much energy in the camp.”

“I agree. This was a good idea,” Junmyeon acknowledged. He wet his lips and sat back on his hands. Did Taeyeon want anything else from him?

“Well, I’ll leave you to your musings.” Taeyeon turned on her heel and left. Junmyeon let out a quiet sigh of relief. Dealing with his guilt was proving much more difficult than he’d thought. The next time he saw Yifan, he’d be sure to ask how Yifan dealt with it.

The next time. Junmyeon swallowed hard and shook his head. Wasn’t that too hopeful? Too optimistic? They were at war with each other. _If_ he saw Yifan again. That was probably more realistic.

But maybe it was okay to be hopeful. Even though Yifan had left for the other side, somehow, Yifan had still been able to find him. They had still been able to meet. Maybe fate was on their side.

Time seemed to fly by. Before Junmyeon quite realized what was happening, he was sitting at a table, sandwiched between Taeyeon and another older general judging a sparring match. They were both non-elemental soldiers.

“The shorter one has excellent hand-to-hand technique,” Taeyeon said softly.

“Yes,” the older general, General Kwan, agreed. “It seems likely that he’ll win the match.”

“I disagree.” Junmyeon slouched back in his seat. “He is already tired and sweating heavily. His opponent has the strength to win the match.”

General Kwan snorted. “How can you tell from here? They both look tired and sweaty to me.”

Junmyeon blinked. Did General Kwan not know he was an elemental?

“Captain Junmyeon is a very accomplished water elemental,” Taeyeon said after a moment. “He is easily able to detect this sort of thing.”

“I see.” General Kwan looked embarrassed. “Pardon me.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Junmyeon said a little awkwardly. “Let’s just judge these matches fairly.”

True to Junmyeon’s prediction, the shorter soldier lost to his opponent, lacking the stamina to keep blocking attacks. Junmyeon applauded politely as the two left the arena.

“We’ll have a break, and then we’ll have the matches amongst the six of you.” Taeyeon got to her feet.

“About that.” Junmyeon rose to his feet along with General Kwan. “You never said what match-ups between us you wanted to see.”

“Three on three?” Taeyeon suggested after a moment. “What have you been preparing for?”

“Three on three sounds good.” Junmyeon shrugged; they had prepared in all the possible combinations available. This would be fun. “We’ll just warm up over here.”

Taeyeon nodded at him, and then left with General Kwan to talk to the rest of the soldiers and congratulate, or console them on their wins and losses. Junmyeon crossed the battle arena to the corner where Exo was watching, slightly away from the rest of the soldiers.

“Why are you five sitting alone?” Junmyeon called out. “Don’t have any friends?”

Yixing made a face at him and Jongin stuck out his tongue.

“General Taeyeon said she’d like to see a three on three. I was thinking me, Minseok, and Kyungsoo. Jongin, Yixing and Baekhyun?”

“Isn’t that playing it a little safe? Everyone knows that you and Minseok, and Jongin and Yixing are legendary pairs together,” Baekhyun complained. “Why don’t we mix things up a bit? I want to switch with Minseok.”

Junmyeon hesitated. Putting them with their strongest partners gave them the strongest insurance of putting on a powerful display for Taeyeon. “I’m not sure that most people know about Jongin and Yixing,” Junmyeon said after a moment. “Besides, I think having our strongest formations will be a better show…and anyways, we practiced the least in these formations. That puts some stakes on it, doesn’t it?”

“I guess,” Baekhyun pouted.

“You just want to be on my team, don’t you?” Junmyeon reached out and playfully tweaked Baekhyun’s nose, laughing when Baekhyun whined and ducked away. “Next time. I promise.”

“We should stop messing around and start stretching.” Jongin got to his feet, stepped to the side, and gracefully dropped into the splits.

“Show off,” Kyungsoo mumbled, also getting to his feet. Yixing went behind Jongin to help press his back down, and the six of them began warming up together.

Jongin and Yixing, while less well-known than Junmyeon and Minseok, were a force to be reckoned with. Yixing’s elemental powers didn’t often come handy as a weapon, so he and Jongin were best at hand-to-hand combat. Jongin, who was usually prone to more injuries as he took risks and often teleported into the thick of battle, stuck close to Yixing to get healed when he needed it. Of course, Yixing had been kept more on the sidelines after they graduated from the academy, as their commanding officers often saw Yixing to be more useful as a medic than as a fighter, but still. Even though it had been a few years, Junmyeon had been glad to see that their teamwork was still a sight to behold.

It was a cold, cloudy day and Junmyeon shivered and pulled his cape a little tighter around his shoulders. His cape hadn’t aged very gracefully—it was still a little too long, and extremely ragged at the ends. A gust of wind blew, ripping the corner out of his hands.

There was a burst of laughter from a few feet away, and Junmyeon didn’t have to look to the side to know that there was a group of men and women swooning off to his right.

“You give such great fan service,” Minseok said, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“I give such great fan service?” Junmyeon echoed. “This is coming from you, the king of flying kisses.”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and stayed quiet.

They finished stretching and ran a couple of laps together to warm up their muscles. Junmyeon could feel the endorphins starting to lift his mood. This would be a fun fight, albeit with some holds barred. They weren’t doing this because of the impending call for a mission. They weren’t doing this because of their impending fate to fight their old friends. They were doing this for _fun_.

Taeyeon called them out to the field and they went, squaring off three against three. Junmyeon smirked at Jongin, who stood directly across from him. Jongin winked back at him, and Taeyeon blew the whistle to start the match.

Jongin vanished from view, and Junmyeon threw himself backwards, balancing on his hands and feet to see Jongin standing right where he’d been moments before, quarterstaff in hand, extended out.

Junmyeon launched himself out of his bridge position and extended his hand towards Jongin, pulling the water out of the misty air around him and directing it at Jongin’s hand.

Jongin thrust the staff towards him, but his fingers slipped on the now wet weapon, and he missed. Minseok came up behind Jongin and snapped his fingers. Jongin’s hand was frozen in place to the staff in a slightly awkward hand position. Junmyeon and Minseok lunged towards Jongin at the same time, intent on knocking him out—

But there was a burst of shadows, and Junmyeon and Minseok twisted out of each other’s way as Jongin teleported away. There were cheers from the crowd of assembled soldiers, but Junmyeon paid them no mind, instead running with Minseok to join Kyungsoo who was crouched down behind a large boulder he’d constructed out of soil. Arrows peppered the ground around them, but Minseok and Junmyeon slid into safety as an arrow whistled past.

“When the fuck did Yixing get a hold of a bow and quiver?” Minseok gasped.

“Yixing isn’t shooting arrows, that’s Baekhyun.” Kyungsoo closed his eyes and pointed to his right. Jongin flickered into being to their right, only to yelp and teleport away when a pillar of soil shot up from the ground where he’d been standing.

“They have a good strategy. Jongin is doing most of the legwork for now, but once he’s tired us out, Baekhyun will start playing tricks on us and Yixing will come out for combat.” Junmyeon winced and rubbed at his knee—he wasn’t particularly looking forward to that. He was still bruised from his one-on-one training with Yixing from a few days ago.

“We need a strategy guys, we can’t stay hidden behind this wall forever,” Kyungsoo snapped. He extended his finger in the air, and Minseok and Junmyeon shielded their faces as soil rained down over the wall.

“What did you do?”

“I almost got Baekhyun, but I missed.” Kyungsoo gave them a sharp look. “I can’t spend the whole time showing off, hurry up you two.”

Junmyeon sighed and wiped some dirt off of his nose. “Flying rose formation?” he suggested.

Minseok nodded. “Sounds good.”

“Tell us when to go,” Junmyeon told Kyungsoo.

“Okay.” Kyungsoo closed his eyes and spread out his hands. The earth rumbled, but Minseok and Junmyeon stayed on their feet. “Now!”

Junmyeon and Minseok jumped out from behind the wall. Junmyeon saw Baekhyun on his knees, bow and arrow in hand. To his surprise, Yixing was actually closest to them, his hand on Jongin’s arm.

Junmyeon raised his palm, pooling the water in the earth by Yixing and Jongin’s feet. Yixing looked up, his eyes wide with surprise, but it was too late. Jongin disappeared into a burst of shadows with a short curse, leaving Yixing to fend for himself.

Minseok had circled around from the other side. He darted forward, hands outstretched. Behind him, a ring of short ice spears circled behind him and flew towards Yixing, piercing his robes and causing him to flat on his back. Junmyeon flung a wall of water at him, and together he and Minseok encased Yixing in a sheet of ice. Yixing grimaced at them, his entire body except for his head encased in a solid three feet of ice.

The ice wouldn’t actually harm him—Yixing could use his power to keep his body in homeostasis while he waited for the ice to melt or for one of his teammates to try and free him.

Yixing turned his head to look at the ice spears sticking out of his encasement. “Roses? Really?”

“Minseok wanted to add some style to it,” Junmyeon said dryly. The ends of the spears were shaped like beautiful, icy roses. The weather was cold enough that the ice hadn’t melted yet.

“My ice roses are the best!” Minseok said defensively.

“No one said they weren’t,” Junmyeon said soothingly. “Left!”

Minseok sprinted to his left as Jongin teleported between them.

“Separating us doesn’t do anything.” Junmyeon lifted his hand and made a whip of water, cracking it behind Jongin’s knees. Jongin teleported away in the knick of time, and Junmyeon chased after him with the water. Minseok began throwing his own ice attacks, but Junmyeon retreated far enough away to where he wouldn’t be affected by them.

Junmyeon stiffened when he heard Kyungsoo cry out, but he didn’t turn his attention away from Jongin. The earth began to rumble beneath his feet, and Junmyeon and fell to his knees when a way of soil rose and fell under him.

“Junmyeon!” Minseok shouted, trying to run past Jongin, but Jongin wouldn’t let him, teleporting directly in front of Minseok and swinging his staff.

“I’m fine!” Junmyeon shouted back, slowly getting to his feet.

Suddenly, Jongin appeared directly before him in a burst of shadows. Junmyeon ducked and rolled, still unable to stand on his feet as the earth shook. Jongin, in contrast, was maintaining his balance much better than Junmyeon, and kept advancing on him, swinging his staff. Junmyeon didn’t bother trying to look around for Minseok and focused his mind on using his water whip to throw Jongin’s attacks off until he could get to a calmer area.

After a few minutes of Junmyeon getting in a few good hits with his water whip and Jongin trying to hit him with the quarterstaff, Jongin gave up and threw himself directly at Junmyeon, pinning him to the ground.

Junmyeon grunted, grappling with Jongin. They rolled over, and Junmyeon risked glancing away from Jongin towards the wall of earth concealing Kyungsoo. He blinked in shock when he realized that the entire wall had fallen, and Kyungsoo had exposed himself to the open air as he hurled boulders and earth towards Baekhyun who was skipping around in circles, bending the light to conceal his true location.

Jongin bucked his hips and punched upwards at the same time. Junmyeon went flying backwards and winced. That was sure to leave a bruise.

The earth had finally stopped shaking, and Junmyeon scrambled to his feet. Minseok had gone back to fortify Yixing’s prison, and to help Kyungsoo. Junmyeon could see a swarm of ice spikes swirling around the area, trying to pin Baekhyun down.

“Eyes on me!” Jongin appeared directly in front of him and lunged, his hands wrapping around Junmyeon’s throat and pinning him to the ground. Junmyeon amplified the sweat on Jongin’s palms and Jongin’s hand slipped away from his throat. Junmyeon pushed Jongin away and grabbed the staff Jongin had dropped, swinging it around whacking Jongin solidly in the chest. Jongin fell back, the wind knocked out of his lungs. Junmyeon summoned a pool of water to form around Jongin’s body and froze it, freezing Jongin in place. Jongin pouted at him, and Junmyeon scowled at him.

“You bruised my face,” Junmyeon said accusingly.

“Don’t be mad,” Jongin said pleadingly. “Also, please don’t keep Yixing trapped for too long. I don’t want to lose any of my extremities to frostbite.”

“Don’t worry. It won’t be long until Baekhyun falls.” Junmyeon winked at Jongin, who groaned in protest.

“Where is all of this competitive, arrogant Captain Suho coming from?” Jongin asked teasingly.

“I think I can have the luxury of feeling confident when two out of my three opponents are down for the count.” Junmyeon squatted down and ruffled Jongin’s hair. “Don’t worry, I won’t leave you here for long.” He got to his feet and jogged towards Minseok and Kyungsoo.

Somehow, Baekhyun was still evading their reach, even though Minseok had a veritable blizzard of sharp ice spikes starting to spread out. Junmyeon couldn’t see very well through the blizzard, but he guessed that Kyungsoo and Minseok were probably at its center. Baekhyun was probably still located far away from them, possibly off the ground somehow if Kyungsoo wasn’t able to detect him, and Minseok’s ice spikes weren’t giving away from his location. Should he try and regroup with his team? He’d probably just get injured by Minseok’s blizzard though. He could try and figure out where Baekhyun was, but if Baekhyun was hiding near the edge of the training field, it would be impossible to differentiate Baekhyun from the audience and the edges.

Junmyeon paused, a chill running down his spine. He whipped his head to the right so fast that his neck hurt—he could’ve sworn he’d seen a flash of red to his right. He looked towards Taeyeon and General Kwan, but they looked unperturbed, watching Minseok’s ice storm start to spiral outwards with great interest. Junmyeon looked at the soldiers in the crowd, but none of them seemed to have noticed anything. No one was really looking at him, given that he’d taken Jongin down and wasn’t really part of the action.

Junmyeon gingerly extended his senses away from the crowd. He’d already used a significant amount of strength and stamina—more than he really should have, if he was being honest with himself. He should’ve let Minseok handle the freezing, and he should’ve incapacitated Jongin in a different way; it always took more energy than he expected to freeze even a small amount of water.

Junmyeon frowned. He slowly began walking towards his right, peering out past the edge of the field, his right hand reaching under his cloak for the emergency whistle he carried around his neck. He didn’t _see_ anything out of the ordinary, and he couldn’t sense any human bodies…

Junmyeon was considerably farther from the fight at this appoint, close to where the hill started to slope downwards again and close enough to see the individual trees at the edge of the forest. Junmyeon stopped walking, narrowing his eyes. He could’ve sworn he’d seen that flash of red…

Junmyeon gasped and whirled around, but he was just a second too late. Something kicked under his ankle, and he fell to the ground. Baekhyun grinned victoriously at him and pounced, pinning him down. Junmyeon struggled, but then fell still when he realized that if he wriggled too much, he’d dislocate his shoulder. Wincing, he felt Baekhyun shifting around above him, keeping him pinned with his shoulders, his chest, then his knee…

Junmyeon felt the strong rope binding his wrists and sighed. Baekhyun tied off the knot and gently rolled him over, leaning down to tie his ankles together as well. Junmyeon didn’t resist him too hard—Baekhyun’s victory was well deserved.

“Got you,” Baekhyun sing-songed. “See you later!” Baekhyun’s image flickered, and then he was gone, blending himself back in with his surroundings.

Junmyeon sighed and closed his eyes. This far away, it was easy to tell that there really had been no one approaching his camp. Maybe he _was_ being paranoid about the Red Forces. Maybe Yifan had really just missed him so much that he’d foolishly come to seek Junmyeon out of his own will. Maybe Yifan didn’t always have an agenda.  

Junmyeon shook his head, clearing his thoughts of Yifan and turning his attention back to the fight. Baekkhyun was sneaky and clever, but Junmyeon didn’t doubt that Minseok and Kyungsoo would eventually be able to take him down. Junmyeon smiled, pleased to see that Minseok had expanded his blizzard to cover Jongin and Yixing’s body, effectively stopping Baekhyun from trying to free them lest he lose his advantage.

Junmyeon carefully sat up, wincing a little as the rope chafed his wrists and ankles. He carefully curled up, his fingers twisting and reaching into his shoes, grabbing the small dagger that he kept in the side of his boot. Finally, his fingers closed around it and he carefully pulled it out and started sawing at the bonds on his ankles.

By the time Junmyeon freed himself, Minseok’s blizzard had dissipated, and Junmyeon could see Baekhyun’s head sticking out of a solid pillar of earth. Junmyeon shook his head and jogged back towards them. He let Minseok do the work of unfreezing Yixing and Jongin. He glanced over at General Kwan and Taeyeon, and Taeyeon gave him a pleased smile. Once all six of them were free (and Yixing had looked over Jongin to make sure that he didn’t have frostbite), they stood in a line and saluted Taeyeon. The crowd cheered for them, and then everyone began to disperse back towards the camp. Junmyeon smiled at the sight—all of the soldiers seemed much more cheerful, eagerly talking to one another and recounting the events of their own matches, or of the matches they’d just seen.

Taeyeon was a good leader. She knew what to do when morale was running low, and she ran a tight ship. The day had been well-organized and well executed.

Yixing gently touched his neck, and Junmyeon to face him.

“Jongin really gave you a good one,” Yixing said, his eyes gleaming with pride. Junmyeon touched his neck, and let out a small sigh of relief when the area didn’t throb with pain.

“Will it still bruise?”

“It’ll be quite faint,” Yixing reassured him. “I can barely see it.”

“Thanks.” Junmyeon patted Yixing’s hand. “Great job everyone. We all did really well today! We can sit down at dinner and talk about the strengths and weaknesses of today’s battle.”

The others grunted in agreement, and they all started walking back towards the camp together, saluting General Kwan and Taeyeon as they passed.

“Good show, Commander Junmyeon.” Taeyeon gave him a warm smile, and Junmyeon smiled back at her.

“All six of you, report to my tent tomorrow. I have a reward for your good behavior.” She winked at them, and Junmyeon smiled tiredly.

“Thank you, General.” They saluted her again, and then left her behind them as she turned to General Kwan and started talking to him in a low voice.

“I wonder what our reward will be,” Minseok mused.

“Maybe it’ll be cigarettes,” Jongin said longingly.

“Maybe,” Junmyeon said doubtfully. “But since all six of us are going, it’ll probably be something that applies to all of us…”

“Maybe it’ll be a short leave to visit family?” Yixing suggested. “Although…that would be unprecedented. We haven’t been on active duty for that long. We haven’t even gotten a mission yet.”

“Maybe it’ll be decent food, or snacks or something,” Baekhyun offered. “That would make the most sense.”

Junmyeon hummed thoughtfully. “I’m hungry. Let’s eat before we drive ourselves crazy guessing.”

“It’s our turn to cook today,” Kyungsoo told him. “Don’t let me catch you eating anything before we’re done.”

Junmyeon pouted at him, and smiled slightly when Kyungsoo patted his shoulder comfortingly. He followed Kyungsoo to drag out their cooking supplies from the tent while the other four lounged around a tree. Jongin discretely pulled out his pack of cigarettes and started smoking. Yixing was laughing at something Baekhyun had said. Minseok was curled up in Jongin’s side, staring up at the sky.

Kyungsoo nudged his hand, and Junmyeon went back to cutting the carrot in his hands. Things were alright, for now. Their team was in a good place—and Junmyeon could only hope that they would stay stable once they started picking up missions. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The team seems to be in a good place :) And it seems like they're gonna be ready for a mission soon! (nudge nudge, wink wink). I hope you guys like this chapter! I feel kind of sad because I didn't get to write as much badass Kyungsoo as I wanted to, but there will be more time for him to shine later :) I hope you all enjoyed, and I apologize for the wait! Comments are always greatly appreciated, and thanks for reading!


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